John Ternus Becomes Apple’s CEO as Tim Cook Moves to Executive Chairman

John Ternus became Apple’s chief executive on 1 September 2026, the company confirmed, completing a transition first announced by Apple’s board in April. Tim Cook, who had led Apple since 2011, moved into the newly created role of executive chairman, where he continues to engage with policymakers and advise the company while stepping back from day-to-day management.

Ternus joined Apple’s design team in 2001 and rose to senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021, a role in which he oversaw engineering for the iPad, AirPods, iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch lines and led the company’s multi-year transition of Mac computers from Intel processors to Apple’s own silicon chips. The board’s decision followed what Apple described as a long-term, deliberate succession process.

An internal, engineering-led choice

“John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor,” Cook said of his successor when the transition was announced. Ternus said he was “profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward.” Board member Arthur Levinson, who also became Apple’s lead independent director on the same date, said the board believed Ternus was “the best possible leader to succeed Tim.”

Continuity over an outside hire

By promoting a 25-year Apple veteran from within its engineering ranks rather than recruiting an outside executive, the board signalled a preference for product and operational continuity at a company whose scale and supply-chain complexity reward deep institutional knowledge. Cook himself rose through Apple’s operations organisation before becoming CEO, a pattern Ternus’s promotion now repeats from the hardware engineering side.

Why It Matters

Apple is one of the world’s most valuable companies, and its leadership choices ripple through global technology supply chains, financial markets and consumer product cycles. Ternus inherits a company navigating intensifying competition in artificial intelligence and continued scrutiny of its App Store practices, making the smoothness of this transition closely watched well beyond Cupertino.