Apple has announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO of the world’s largest tech company, paving the way for John Ternus, currently senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. The change of guards will be effective September 1, 2026. Cook will hand over the reigns after a stellar 15 year run, wherein Apple reached record numbers across the board.
“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,” said Cook.
Tim Cook will transition to the role of Executive Chairman, wherein he will assist with “certain aspects” of the company, including “engaging with policymakers” around the world, Apple said in its press release. Arthur Levinson, who has been Apple’s non-executive chairman for the past 15 years, will become its lead independent director on September 1, 2026. Ternus will join the board of directors, also effective September 1, 2026.
After the demise of Steve Jobs, Tim Cook took over Apple back in 2011, at a rather uncertain time. Jobs’s demise happened weeks after he handed over the company to Jobs, at a time when most still interchangeably used the terms “Apple” and “Steve Jobs”. Cook’s run as CEO however — one of the longest and most stable ones in corporate history — has been anything but uncertain.
Having joined Apple in 1998, he became CEO in 2011 and has overseen the introduction of numerous products and services, including iconic new categories like Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro, and services ranging from iCloud and Apple Pay to Apple TV and Apple Music. On the financial end, Apple has grown from a market capitalization of approximately $350 billion to $4 trillion, representing a more than 1,000% increase, and yearly revenue has nearly quadrupled, from $108 billion in fiscal year 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal year 2025.
John Ternus joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and became a vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013. He joined the executive team in 2021 as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. Throughout his tenure at Apple, Ternus has overseen hardware engineering work on a variety of groundbreaking products across every category. He was instrumental in the introduction of multiple new product lines, including iPad and AirPods, as well as many generations of products across iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch.
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