Tim Cook leaves his position as Apple CEO, transferring to John Ternus

On April 20, the company said the decision was approved by the Board of Directors with absolute consensus, after a systematic and long-term succession planning process.

Tim Cook will coordinate with John Ternus to ensure a smooth transition on September 1. Meanwhile, as Executive Chairman, Mr. Cook will support a number of company activities, as well as work with policymakers globally.

“Becoming CEO of Apple is the greatest honor of my life, and I am deeply grateful to be trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all my being, and deeply appreciate the opportunity to work with a talented, creative, innovative and dedicated team,” said Mr. Cook.

He also commented that Ternus brings together the mindset of an engineer, the spirit of an innovator and a visionary leader, with contributions to Apple over the past 25 years.

“I am very grateful to have the opportunity to continue Apple’s mission,” Mr. Ternus shared. “I’ve spent nearly my entire career with Apple and have been fortunate to work under the leadership of Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. It’s an honor to help shape products and experiences that change the way we interact with the world and each other. I’m optimistic about what we can achieve in the years to come.”

From September 1, Tim Cook will become Apple’s Executive Chairman, replacing Arthur Levinson, who has held this position for the past 15 years, from September 1. “Tim’s outstanding and unprecedented leadership has made Apple the best company in the world,” Mr. Levinson commented. “We believe John is the most suitable person to succeed Tim as CEO”

Tim Cook joined Apple in 1998, becoming CEO in 2011. During his leadership, he oversaw the launch of many products and services, including new categories such as Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro, along with iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple TV and Apple Music services.

Under his leadership, Apple’s market capitalization increased from about 350 billion to 4,000 billion USD, equivalent to an increase of more than 1,000%, while annual revenue almost quadrupled, from 108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than 416 billion USD in 2025. The company expanded its presence globally, especially in emerging markets, with a presence in more than 200 countries. countries and territories. Apple also operates more than 500 retail stores. During his tenure, Apple added more than 100,000 employees and increased the number of active devices to more than 2.5 billion.

Services is one of Tim Cook’s big focuses and has become a more than $100 billion business, equivalent to the size of a Fortune 40 company. He also played a key role in shaping the wearables category, with watches and headphones, and contributed to Apple’s significant impact in the field of user health and safety. Under his leadership, Apple switched to using self-designed chips, which gave it greater control over core technology and achieved leading advances in performance and energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, John Ternus, born in 1975 in the US, joined the Apple product design team since 2001, became Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2013 and joined the executive board in 2021. He is in charge of hardware for most categories, playing an important role in launching new product lines such as iPad and AirPods, as well as many generations of iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch.

Apple said his role with the Mac line helped the product become more popular globally than at any time in its 40-year history. Last month, the company introduced the low-cost MacBook Neo. Last year, his team also attracted attention with the ultra-thin generation of iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.

Before coming to Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania (USA).