Apple has announced a major leadership change, with John Ternus, its senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, set to become the company’s next chief executive officer on September 1, 2026. Tim Cook will step down as CEO and become Apple’s executive chairman.
The transition was unanimously approved by Apple’s board following a long-term succession planning process. Cook will remain CEO through the summer and work closely with Ternus to ensure a smooth handover.
In his new position as executive chairman, Cook will continue supporting Apple in selected areas, including its engagement with policymakers around the world.
Cook described leading Apple as the greatest privilege of his life and expressed strong confidence in Ternus’s ability to guide the company. He highlighted Ternus’s engineering background, innovation experience and leadership qualities, calling him the right person to take Apple into its next chapter.
Ternus also expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, saying he has spent almost his entire career at Apple. He joined the company in 2001 and has worked under both Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. Over the years, he has played a major role in developing products across Apple’s hardware lineup.
Arthur Levinson, who has served as Apple’s non-executive chairman for 15 years, will become the company’s lead independent director on September 1. Ternus will also join Apple’s board on the same date.
Levinson praised Cook’s leadership, saying his tenure transformed Apple and helped establish the company as one of the world’s most valuable businesses. He also said the board believes Ternus has the technical expertise, leadership skills and passion for Apple needed to succeed Cook.
Cook became Apple CEO in 2011 after joining the company in 1998. During his time as CEO, Apple introduced products and services including Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro, while expanding major businesses such as iPhone, Mac and Apple services.
Under Cook, Apple’s market capitalization grew from roughly $350 billion to $4 trillion. Annual revenue increased from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025. Apple also expanded its presence to more than 200 countries and territories, increased its retail footprint to more than 500 stores and grew its workforce by more than 100,000 employees.
Apple’s active installed base has also surpassed 2.5 billion devices. Its services business became a more than $100 billion operation, while wearables developed into another major part of the company through products such as Apple Watch and AirPods.
Cook also oversaw Apple’s transition to its own Apple-designed silicon, giving the company greater control over key technologies while improving performance and power efficiency across its products.
Environmental initiatives, privacy, security and accessibility have also been major areas of focus during Cook’s leadership. Apple says it reduced its carbon footprint by more than 60% compared with 2015 levels while revenue nearly doubled. Cook has also consistently positioned privacy as a fundamental right and pushed Apple to make its products more accessible.
Ternus joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 before becoming vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013. He joined Apple’s executive team as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2021.
Throughout his career at Apple, Ternus has overseen hardware engineering across the company’s major product categories. His work has included iPad, AirPods, iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch, as well as several newer product lines.
His leadership has also played a major role in the development of the Mac, including newer products such as the MacBook Neo. His team has worked on recent iPhone generations, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone Air and iPhone 17.
Ternus has also been involved in advances to AirPods, including active noise cancellation and hearing-health features. His work has extended to product reliability, durability, materials and repairability.
Apple has credited Ternus with helping introduce new manufacturing and design techniques, including recycled aluminum and 3D-printed titanium used in Apple Watch Ultra 3.
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Before joining Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
The leadership transition will officially take effect on September 1, 2026, when Ternus becomes CEO, Cook becomes executive chairman and Levinson takes on the role of lead independent director.
