Tim Cook has announced he will step down as CEO of Apple from 1st September.
Cook, who joined Steve Jobs at the firm in 1998, succeeded the celebrated late co-founder in 2011 and will transition to the role of chair after decided to work less.
“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company,” Cook said.
He will be succeeded by John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.
“John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour,” said Cook.
“He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.
“I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character, and I look forward to working closely with him on this transition and in my new role as executive chairman.”
So who is John Ternus?
Ternus, who is from California, earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and competed for the swim team. He graduated in 1997 and worked at Virtual Research Systems, a virtual reality startup. He then joined Apple in 2001.
He was named vice-president of hardware engineering in 2013 before heading the department from 2021.
He has worked on the hardware components of flagship Apple products iPhone, iPad and AirPods, while he was also responsible for the development and launch of Apple’s proprietary silicon chips for its Mac computers, used in place of Intel chips since 2020.
Now 50, he recently spoke at Apple’s latest iPhone launch and MacBook Neo unveiling.
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“I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward,” Ternus said. “Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor.
“It has been a privilege to help shape the products and experiences that have changed so much of how we interact with the world and with one another.”
Johny Srouji, who previously worked as Apple’s senior vice-president of hardware, will take up his current role.
Cook grew Apple into a company worth $4 trillion with annual profits of $100 billion. Its Services segment is now a $109bn-a-year business, while new products that debuted under his leadership include the Apple Watch and the AirPods – although the Vision Pro headset failed.
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