Tim Cook’s Tenure as Apple CEO to End, John Ternus to Succeed Him

Apple recently announced that Tim Cook, the tech giant’s longtime CEO, will step down from the role on September 1, fifteen years after he succeeded late founder Steve Jobs. John Ternus, Apple’s current Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering will be replacing Cook.

The change coincides with a slight shuffle of Apple’s board of directors (the “Board”), taking effect on the same day as Ternus’ appointment to the CEO role. While Cook will remain Apple’s executive chairman, Arthur Levinson, who served as the non-executive chairman throughout Cook’s tenure as CEO, will become a lead independent director. Ternus will also join Apple’s Board.

According to TechCrunch, when Cook became Apple’s CEO in 2011, the nascent company could scarcely separate its identity from that of its enigmatic founder. Six weeks after Jobs passed away from pancreatic cancer, Cook, who had spent the preceding decade acting as back-up quarterback for Jobs when the founder’s health flared, assumed the lead position. Under his leadership, the annual revenue of the company quadrupled, with the company now valued at US$4 trillion.

Cook’s tenure was not all aces (TechCrunch cites the failed launch of Apple Vision Pro as a particularly memorable fumble). Nonetheless, Cook is credited with developing some of the company’s greatest assets and revenue streams. Where the mixed-reality headset floundered, the Apple Watch, another wearable creation architected by Cook, thrived, accounting for 25% of global smartwatch sales today. After inheriting a fraying supply chain from the late Jobs, Cook closed warehouses, consolidated suppliers and turned Apple’s manufacturing operation into a celebrated feature of the brand.

For his part, John Ternus is well-suited to succeed Cook. Having spent virtually his entire career at Apple, Ternus has a long history of internal promotions, and he has had a hand in the creation of many keystone Apple products along the way. According to Apple, Ternus was instrumental in the introduction of the iPad, AirPods and multiple generations of MacBooks, watches and iPhones to market, having also helped create the iPhone Air and MacBook Neo in recent years. And, perhaps most crucially for global users of Apple products, Apple credited Ternus with making durability and repairability a major focus of his design work, suggesting that longer product lifespans may be a priority for the new CEO in the years to come (at least, this author can dream).

In a statement on Monday, Cook reflected, “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple,” adding “I love Apple with all of my being.” On his successor, Cook was unequivocal: “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour,” he said. “He is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

Author: Sarah Farb, 2025/26 Articling Student-at-Law