Apple on Monday named hardware engineering chief John Ternus as its next chief executive officer, ending Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure at the top of the world’s most valuable technology company, with the transition set for September 1, 2026.
Cook joined Apple in 1998 and became chief executive in 2011, succeeding the late Steve Jobs. By the time of the announcement, Apple’s market capitalisation had reached $4 trillion, a roughly 24-fold increase under his leadership, with annual revenue climbing to more than $416 billion in fiscal year 2025.
Cook will remain in his role through the summer, working alongside Ternus on a structured handover. As executive chairman, he will focus on engaging with policymakers around the world.
Ternus, 50, joined Apple’s product design team in 2001, became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, and joined the executive team as senior vice president in 2021. He has overseen hardware engineering for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Vision Pro.
Johny Srouji, previously senior vice president of hardware technologies, will move into a newly expanded chief hardware officer position, adding hardware engineering responsibilities to his remit.
“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the chief executive officer of Apple,” Cook said in a statement. Ternus, in turn, described the opportunity as one he approached with humility, pledging to uphold the values that have defined the company across five decades.
The succession ends Cook’s 15-year run as one of the most consequential technology chief executives in modern history. Among the major challenges Ternus will inherit is the task of accelerating Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy, an area where the company has faced sustained criticism from investors and industry analysts. Apple has delayed upgrades to its Siri voice assistant multiple times and recently turned to Google’s Gemini model to power future Apple Intelligence features.
Apple’s board of directors approved the transition unanimously, following what the company described as a long-term succession planning process.
