After 15 transformative years at the helm of the world’s most valuable company, Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple’s CEO, and hardware engineering chief John Ternus will inherit one of the most coveted jobs in global business.
The Cupertino-based group confirmed Monday that Cook, 65, will be named chief executive on Sept. 1, while Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, will be promoted to CEO on the same day. The succession, approved unanimously by directors, is the culmination of what insiders describe as a patient, long-planned handover rather than a hasty passing of the baton.
Cook will remain CEO throughout the summer and will work with his successor to ensure a seamless transition. In his new chairman’s role, he is expected to focus on global policy engagement, a task that will become increasingly important as Apple grapples with tariff regimes, artificial intelligence regulation and geopolitical pressures on its supply chain.
“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as CEO of Apple,” Cook said in a statement. “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator and the heart to lead with integrity and honor. He is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”
The numbers behind Cook’s tenure make for compelling reading. Since succeeding the late Steve Jobs in 2011, Apple’s market capitalization has increased from around $350 billion to $4 trillion, an increase of more than 1,000 percent. Annual revenue has nearly quadrupled, rising from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to over $416 billion in 2025. Cook has added Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro to the company’s hardware roster, while the services division he promotes now generates more than $100 billion a year, a company in its own right that would rank among the Fortune 40.
For UK SMEs who have built their livelihoods around the Apple ecosystem, from app store developers in Shoreditch to hardware resellers on the high street, Cook’s legacy is the continued expansion of a platform that now reaches 2.5 billion active devices in more than 200 countries. Under his rule, Apple’s global retail footprint has more than doubled.
Ternus, who has spent nearly a quarter century at the company, represents a return to the engineering tradition founded by Jobs. He joined Apple’s product design team in 2001, rose to vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 and entered the executive ranks in 2021. Its fingerprints can be found on every major product line, from the iPad and AirPods to the current MacBook Neo and iPhone 17 lineup, including the ultra-slim iPhone Air that launched last fall.
“I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to advance Apple’s mission,” said Ternus. “Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I was fortunate to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have Tim Cook as my mentor.”
A mechanical engineering graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Ternus cut his teeth at Virtual Research Systems before joining Apple. He has overseen the transition to Apple-designed silicon, the push into recycled aluminum and 3D-printed titanium, and the AirPods’ evolution into over-the-counter hearing aids, a rare example of Big Tech hardware being recognized as a true medical device.
In another reshuffle, Arthur Levinson, Apple’s non-executive chairman for 15 years, will step down and become lead independent director when the new arrangement takes effect. Ternus will join the board on the same day.
“Tim’s unparalleled and outstanding leadership has made Apple the best company in the world,” said Levinson. “We believe John is the best possible leader to succeed Tim.”
Cook’s departure from the CEO’s office closes a chapter marked by both a sense of responsibility and sensationalism. Where Jobs shined, Cook was disciplined — turning a maverick product house into an operational juggernaut, reducing Apple’s carbon footprint by more than 60 percent from 2015 levels even as revenue roughly doubled, and putting privacy at the heart of the brand promise. Whether Ternus can continue on this path while reigniting the pace of hardware breakthroughs will determine the next era in Cupertino and impact every company large and small that lives within Apple’s orbit.
