Apple has officially announced a major leadership transition: Tim Cook will step into the role of executive chairman of the board, while John Ternus will become the company’s next chief executive officer starting September 1, 2026. The move places Ternus in charge of one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Ternus is a longtime Apple executive who has spent more than two decades helping shape the company’s hardware products. He joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and steadily climbed the ranks, becoming vice president of hardware engineering in 2013.
In 2021, he was promoted to senior vice president of hardware engineering and joined the company’s executive leadership team, working directly under Cook. In this role, he has overseen the development of several of Apple’s key devices, making him a natural successor to lead the company into its next phase.
This is a developing story.