A new era begins at the tech giant from Cupertino: Apple announced officially that Tim Cook will step down from his role as CEO on September 1. His place will be taken by John Ternus, who currently serves as Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering. Cook will not leave the company completely, but will move into the role of active chair of the board of directors, a move unanimously approved by the board. During the upcoming summer months, Cook will work on a structured transfer of authority to his designated successor.
Cook entered the CEO role in 2011, in the shadow of the death of the legendary founder Steve Jobs. At that time, many wrote Apple off and claimed that without the charismatic founder it would struggle to survive. At that point in time, the company was valued at about 150 billion dollars. 15 years later, Cook leaves behind an unprecedented financial legacy, as Apple’s market value crossed the 4 trillion dollar mark. Under his leadership, Apple expanded beyond the iPhone and iPad with the launch of products such as AirPods, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro, and became a dominant services provider with Apple TV and Apple Music.
Despite the meteoric financial success, Cook has faced criticism over the years for lacking the unique product vision that characterized Jobs. Now, the reins are passing into the hands of Ternus, a figure most closely associated with hardware design and development. Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and in 2021 became part of the company’s senior leadership. Recently he stood out at the launch event of the MacBook Neo, a laptop that presented a combination of high quality and accessible price, a product perceived as one that reflects Apple’s unique place in the computing industry.
In a personal and revealing farewell letter, Cook shared his feelings and said that every morning he reads emails from users around the world, stories about Apple Watches that saved lives or personal moments captured on the company’s devices. Cook described Ternus as “a brilliant engineer and thinker” and noted that he is the right person to lead the company thanks to his precision and focus on details. Ternus, who sees Cook as a mentor, stated that he is grateful for the opportunity to continue Apple’s mission, after having also worked under Steve Jobs at the beginning of his career. With Cook’s departure from the executive role in September, the market will closely examine whether the appointment of a hardware-focused leader will restore the design “magic” that critics claimed has weakened in recent years.