Apple appoints John Ternus as CEO, Tim Cook to become Executive Chairman

Published: 2026-04-21 01:00:22 ET AAPL

Apple has announced a major leadership transition, with the appointment of John Ternus as CEO from September 1. Tim Cook, who has held the position since 2011, will transition to the role of Executive Chairman and oversee the handover through the end of the summer. John Ternus, currently head of Hardware Engineering, will also join the Board of Directors, while Arthur Levinson will become Lead Independent Director.

Esteban Tesson

Published on 04/21/2026 at 01:00 am EDT

This succession comes after nearly fifteen years of leadership characterized by explosive growth, during which Apple's market capitalization surged approximately 24-fold to reach 4 trillion dollars. Under the Cook era, the group diversified its operations with products such as the Apple Watch, AirPods and the Vision Pro headset, launched in 2024, although yet to achieve mass-market adoption. John Ternus, long regarded as a natural successor, has spearheaded the hardware development of most of the group's flagship products.The incoming CEO will face several challenges, notably a more complex supply chain amid geopolitical tensions and semiconductor-related constraints.