Apple has officially announced that John Ternus, its senior vice president of hardware engineering, will become the new chief executive officer on September 1, succeeding Tim Cook after 15 years at the helm. This transition marks only the third CEO change in Apple’s modern corporate history.
Ternus has been part of Apple for around 25 years, joining the company’s product design team in 2001 at the age of 26. Now 51, he represents a new generation of leadership while maintaining strong continuity with Apple’s long-standing corporate culture.
Before joining Apple, he worked at Virtual Research Systems, a small virtual reality company. He later rose through the ranks at Apple, becoming vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 and senior vice president in 2021.
Ternus currently oversees Apple’s entire hardware division, including major product lines such as the iPhone, MacBook, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Vision Pro headset.
In a 2024 commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania, he shared his leadership philosophy, stating: “Always assume you’re as smart as anyone else in the room, but never assume that you know as much as they do.” He added, “With this mindset, you’ll find the confidence you need to push forward, but more importantly, the humility to ask questions.”
Early in his career, Ternus worked on evaluating components for the Apple Cinema Display, once spending late nights inspecting manufacturing details to ensure precision in product quality.
More recently, he played a role in the development of the MacBook Neo, a more affordable laptop model that uses an iPhone chip instead of a traditional processor to reduce production costs.
As Apple’s new CEO, Ternus will face major challenges, including accelerating the company’s progress in artificial intelligence and defining the future of the Vision Pro headset, which is still seeking broader market adoption.
His appointment reflects Apple’s preference for internal leadership with deep company experience. His strong background in hardware engineering also suggests Apple will continue focusing on tightly integrated hardware and software innovation under his leadership.
