Tim Cook will step down as CEO of Apple in September. John Ternus will replace him from the launch of the next iPhone 18.
No one saw it coming like this. Apple has just announced, via a press release, that Tim Cook will leave his position as general manager on September 1, 2026. A transition unanimously validated by the board of directors, which propels John Ternus, until now senior vice president of hardware engineering, to the position of CEO. The announcement is all the more surprising as it comes just a few days after Apple’s 50th anniversary, when nothing suggested such an imminent departure. Certainly, the departure of Tim Cook after 15 years at the head of the company had been in the pipeline for months, but the timing of the announcement is surprising.
Cook is not turning his back on the company, however. He will take on the role of executive chairman of the board of directors, responsible in particular for relations with global policy makers. In his press release, he summarizes in one sentence what he thinks of his successor:
“John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator and the heart to lead with integrity and honor. »
An in-house engineer in charge
Ternus is not unknown on the Cupertino side. Joining Apple in 2001, he spent 25 years designing products that redefined several markets: the iPad, AirPods, dozens of generations of iPhones and Macs. It was he who oversaw the launch of the MacBook Neo, the ultra-thin iPhone Air and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. His promotion paves the way for Johny Srouji, appointed chief hardware officer with immediate effect.
September is obviously the time of year when the Apple brand launches its iPhones and it is therefore anything but a coincidence that Ternus, the current product manager, will take over when the most prominent product is renewed. Especially, if this position is accompanied by a major launch, an iPhone Fold, the brand’s first folding device, for example.
Tim Cook’s record in a few figures
John Ternus inherits a balance sheet built over fifteen years. When Cook took the reins in 2011, Apple was worth $350 billion on the stock market. Today: 4,000 billion, an increase of more than 1,000%. Annual revenues increased from $108 billion to $416 billion. The Services division, bringing together iCloud, Apple Music, Apple Pay, alone exceeds 100 billion per year. Cook will also have launched two new categories: wearables with the Apple Watch and AirPods, and mixed reality with the Apple Vision Pro.
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