Apple announced on April 20 that Tim Cook will resign as CEO in September and hand over the highest position to veteran personnel John Ternus. Tim Cook will become the chairman of the board of directors when he leaves the position of CEO of Apple.
Tim Cook's successor - Ternus spent almost his entire career at Apple. As a son of California, he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, competed in the school's swimming team and graduated in 1997. After a short time designing virtual reality headphones at a small company called Virtual Research Systems, he joined Apple's product design team in 2001.
In 2013, he was vice president of hardware engineering. In 2021, when his predecessor Dan Riccio resigned to oversee the (unsuccessful) Vision Pro project, Ternus was promoted to senior vice president, becoming the youngest member of Apple's executive team.
It is not surprising that Ternus has participated in most of the products that Apple has launched in the past decade. According to Apple, he is an important contributor to the introduction of iPad and AirPods and has supervised many generations of iPhones, MacBooks and Apple Watches. His team's work became even clearer in the fall of last year, with the launch of the new iPhone line including iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone Air and iPhone 17.
Regarding MacBook computers, Ternus has contributed to strengthening this product segment, including the recent launch of the more affordable MacBook Neo. His team is also recognized by Apple for bringing AirPods to a new level, now they not only function as headphones but also as a human hearing health care system.
In addition to the product itself, Ternus also puts durability and repairability at the center of attention. Apple acknowledges his contributions in introducing new production materials and techniques that help reduce carbon emissions from Apple products, including new recycled aluminum compounds used on many product lines, while extending the lifespan of some Apple devices through improvements in repairability.
In his own statement on April 20, Ternus said: "After spending almost my entire career at Apple, I was fortunate to work under the leadership of Steve Jobs and have Tim Cook as a mentor. I am very honored to take on this role and I promise to lead with the values and visions that have shaped this special place over the past half century.
For his part, Cook commented on Ternus: "John Ternus has the mindset of an engineer, the soul of an innovator and the heart to lead with integrity and honor. There is no doubt, he is the right person to lead Apple into the future".
