Apple has officially announced one of the most significant leadership transitions in its recent history. Tim Cook, who has served as the company’s chief executive officer since 2011, will be stepping down from that role and moving into the position of executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors. Taking over as the new CEO will be John Ternus, currently Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. Both changes will take effect on September 1, 2026. The decision was approved unanimously by Apple’s board of directors and is described as the outcome of a carefully considered, long term succession planning process.
Cook will remain in his current role through the summer months, working alongside Ternus to ensure the handover is as smooth and structured as possible. As executive chairman, he will continue to be involved in certain areas of the business, including engaging with government and policy stakeholders around the world.
Who Is John Ternus?
John Ternus is not a new face at Apple. He has spent nearly his entire professional career at the company and has been a key figure in shaping many of the hardware products that Apple is known for today. His background is deeply rooted in engineering, and he brings with him a thorough understanding of how Apple builds its products from the ground up.
Ternus expressed both humility and optimism about stepping into the top role. He acknowledged the privilege of having worked under two of Apple’s most defining leaders and spoke about his commitment to carrying forward the values and vision that have shaped the company over the past five decades. He described Apple’s workforce as among the most talented in the world and said he was eager to build on what has already been achieved.
When Tim Cook became CEO in 2011, Apple had a market capitalisation of around $350 billion. By fiscal year 2025, that figure had grown to approximately $4 trillion, representing an increase of more than 1,000 percent. Annual revenue during the same period grew from around $108 billion to over $416 billion, nearly four times what it was when he first took charge.
Cook joined Apple back in 1998 and oversaw an era of extraordinary expansion. Under his leadership, the company launched entirely new product categories including Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro, while also building out a wide range of services such as iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple TV, and Apple Music. The services segment alone grew into a business worth more than $100 billion during his tenure, placing it on par with some of the largest companies in the world by revenue.
Apple’s global footprint also expanded considerably under Cook. The company now operates in more than 200 countries and territories, runs over 500 retail stores worldwide, and has more than doubled the number of locations where customers can visit an Apple Store in person. The total number of active devices in use across Apple’s ecosystem has grown to more than 2.5 billion, and the company added more than 100,000 employees to its workforce during his time as CEO.
Cook also guided Apple through a major technological shift when the company moved away from third party processors and transitioned to its own Apple-designed silicon. This move gave Apple greater control over its core technology and resulted in significant improvements in performance and energy efficiency across its product lineup.
Board Changes Accompanying the Transition
The leadership reshuffle does not stop at the CEO level. Arthur Levinson, who has served as Apple’s non-executive chairman for the past 15 years, will be transitioning into the role of lead independent director, also effective September 1, 2026. Ternus will simultaneously join Apple’s board of directors on the same date.
Levinson praised Cook’s contributions warmly, describing his leadership as transformative and crediting him with making Apple the company it is today. He also expressed strong confidence in Ternus, pointing to his technical depth, his passion for building great products, and his leadership qualities as the right combination to take Apple forward.
Cook, in turn, acknowledged Levinson’s long service to the board and said he looked forward to continuing to work alongside him in his new capacity as executive chairman.
This transition marks the end of a long and highly successful era for Apple while also opening a new chapter under leadership that has been shaped entirely within the company itself. Ternus represents a generation of Apple executives who grew up professionally within the organisation, learning from its founders and its most celebrated leaders along the way.
For Apple’s hundreds of millions of users and its investors around the world, the change signals continuity rather than disruption. The company has planned this carefully, and the people stepping into new roles are not outsiders, they are deeply embedded in everything Apple has built over the past several decades. How Ternus defines his own chapter at the top remains to be seen, but Apple is entering this transition from a position of considerable strength.
