Apple made an announcement in which they said that Tim Cook is soon stepping down as the CEO of Apple. They said that on September 1, 2026, John Ternus, who is a senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will be taking over as CEO of Apple and Tim Cook will be taking charge as an executive chairman of the Apple,s board of directors. The Board of Directors unanimously agreed upon the change, which came after a careful, long-term succession planning procedure.
For the duration of the summer, Cook will stay on as CEO, as he is working closely with Ternus to ensure a seamless transition. Cook will help with several elements of the business as executive chairman, including interacting with global policymakers.
Cook said:
“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world.
John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future. I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character, and I look forward to working closely with him on this transition and in my new role as executive chairman.”
Ternus said:
“I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward. Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor. It has been a privilege to help shape the products and experiences that have changed so much of how we interact with the world and with one another.
I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come, and I am so happy to know that the most talented people on earth are here at Apple, determined to be part of something bigger than any one of us. I am humbled to step into this role, and I promise to lead with the values and vision that have come to define this special place for half a century.”
On September 1, 2026, Arthur Levinson, who has served as Apple’s non-executive chairman for the last 15 years, will take over as the company’s lead independent director. With effect from September 1, 2026, Ternus will also join the board of directors.
Levinson said:
“Tim’s unprecedented and outstanding leadership has transformed Apple into the world’s best company. He’s introduced groundbreaking products and services time and again, and his integrity and values are infused into everything Apple does.
On behalf of the entire board of directors, we are incredibly grateful for his countless contributions to Apple and the world, and we are thrilled he will now be executive chairman. We believe John is the best possible leader to succeed Tim and as he transitions to CEO we know his love of Apple, his leadership, deep technical knowledge, and relentless focus on creating great products will help lead Apple to an extraordinary future.”
Cook stated:
“I want to thank Art for the incredible work he has done leading the board of directors for the past 15 years. I have always found his advice to be invaluable and I appreciate his thoughtfulness and his unwavering dedication to the company. I am grateful he will serve as our lead independent director, and I look forward to working with him in my new role.”
Tim Cook has been working at Apple since 1998. Ever since he took over as CEO in 2011, he has successfully launched a wide range of goods and services, from iCloud and Apple Pay to Apple TV and Apple Music, as well as new categories that included Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro.
Additionally, he played a key role in growing current product lines. Under the leadership of Cook, the annual revenue of Apple has almost increased by fourfold, from $108 billion in fiscal year 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal year 2025. The market valuation of business has increased by more than 1,000%, from around $350 billion to $4 trillion.
While the business is being operated in more than 200 countries and territories, the company has significantly expanded its global presence, especially within emerging markets. With more than 500 retail locations, Apple has more than doubled the number of nations where its consumers may visit an Apple Store. Over 100,000 new employees have joined Apple during Cook,s time there, and the company now has over 2.5 billion installed devices.
Cook made Apple Services his first priority, and under his leadership, the sector expanded to over $100 billion, the size of a Fortune 40 corporation. Cook also had a major role in the development of wearables division of Apple, which now comprises the most well-known watch and headphones in the world.
This division has been the cornerstone of Apple’s outstanding influence on user health and safety. Apple also switched to Apple-designed silicon under Cook’s direction, which allowed the business to own more of its core technology and provide industry-leading improvements in performance and power efficiency that directly benefit customers across all of its products.
Cook has increased the importance of Apple’s basic values in the company’s decision-making and product development processes. During a time when revenue almost doubled, the company under his direction cut its carbon footprint by more than 60% below 2015 levels. Cook, who has long argued that privacy is a basic human right, has made security and privacy crucial at Apple, establishing a benchmark for user protection that keeps the business apart from the rest of the computer sector.
Additionally, he has advocated for ongoing innovation in the field of accessibility since he thinks that all people should be able to use Apple products. Additionally, he has emphasized the idea that Apple should be a place where everyone can feel like they belong and where everyone is treated with respect and decency a fundamental component of his leadership.
After joining Apple’s product design team in 2001, Ternus rose to the position of vice president of hardware engineering in 2013.
In 2021, he became a senior vice president of Hardware Engineering and joined the executive team. Ternus has managed hardware engineering work on numerous innovative products in every category throughout his time at Apple. He played a key role in the launch of several new product lines, like the iPad and AirPods, as well as numerous iterations of the iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch.
Thanks to Ternus’s work on Mac, the category is now stronger and more well-known worldwide than it has ever been in its 40-year existence. The MacBook Neo, a brand-new notebook that makes the Mac experience even more accessible to more people worldwide, is one example of this. His team’s efforts were evident this past fall with the release of a completely redesigned iPhone lineup that included the highly powerful iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, the incredibly thin and sturdy iPhone Air, and the iPhone 17, which has been an amazing upgrade for consumers.
Under his direction, his team also advanced AirPods, making them the greatest in-ear headphones in the world with previously unheard-of active noise cancellation and the potential to become an all-in-one hearing health system that could be used as over-the-counter hearing aids.
Ternus spearheaded the company’s emphasis on issues like durability and dependability, providing innovative methods that have made Apple products exceptionally robust. Additionally, he has spearheaded many of Apple’s innovations in hardware design and materials that have lowered the carbon footprint of the company’s products, such as the development of a new recycled aluminum compound that has been incorporated into several product lines, the use of 3-D printed titanium in the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and advancements in repairability that have extended the lifespans of a number of Apple products.
Ternus was a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems before joining Apple. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
