John Ternus Appointed Apple's CEO to Replace Tim Cook

Apple Inc. has officially announced that Tim Cook will relinquish his position as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after nearly 15 years leading the company. His position will be taken over by John Ternus, who previously served as Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering. According to KompasTekno, sourced from The New York Times and Apple’s official statement on Tuesday (21/4/2026), this leadership transition will take effect starting 1 September 2026. The appointment of Ternus as the new CEO has been unanimously approved by the board of directors following a long-term succession process. Cook will continue to serve as CEO until the summer of 2026 to ensure a smooth transition process. In his statement, Cook described Ternus as a figure with “the mindset of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and a heart for leading with integrity,” and expressed his confidence that Ternus is the right person to take Apple into the future. “He is a visionary with extraordinary contributions over more than 25 years at Apple, and undoubtedly the right person to lead Apple into the future,” said Cook. This announcement marks the end of Cook’s long era, which began when he took over the CEO position from Steve Jobs on 24 August 2011. Under his leadership, Apple transformed into the world’s most valuable company. “Being CEO of Apple and being trusted to lead this extraordinary company is the greatest honour of my life,” said Cook. “I love Apple with all my heart, and I am deeply grateful to work with a genius, innovative, creative, and caring team that is relentlessly dedicated to enriching customers’ lives and creating the best products and services in the world,” Cook added. As Cook’s successor, John Ternus is a long-time Apple insider with more than two decades of experience. He joined Apple in 2001 as part of the product design team, before rising to Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2013 and joining the executive ranks in 2021.