Tim Cook to become Apple executive chairman as John Ternus is named next CEO

Apple said Tim Cook will become executive chairman of its board of directors and John Ternus will become the company’s next chief executive officer effective September 1, 2026. The company said the board approved the leadership transition unanimously as part of a long-term succession plan. Cook will remain CEO through the summer and work with Ternus during the handover period before moving into the chairman role.

According to Apple, Cook will continue to help the company in his new position, including through engagement with policymakers around the world. In a statement released by Apple, Cook said leading the company had been the greatest privilege of his life and described Ternus as the right person to take over. Ternus said he was grateful for the opportunity and described Cook as a mentor after spending most of his career at Apple.

The same announcement said Arthur Levinson, who has served as Apple’s non-executive chairman for the past 15 years, will become lead independent director on September 1. Apple also said Ternus will join the board of directors on the same date. Levinson praised Cook’s leadership in the release and said the board believed Ternus was the best possible leader to succeed him.

Apple used the announcement to outline Cook’s record since joining the company in 1998 and becoming CEO in 2011. The company said Cook oversaw the introduction of major products and services including Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Vision Pro, iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple TV, and Apple Music, while also expanding existing product lines. Apple said its market capitalization grew from about $350 billion to $4 trillion under Cook, and yearly revenue rose from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025.

The company also said its global reach widened significantly during Cook’s tenure. Apple said it now operates in more than 200 countries and territories, runs more than 500 retail stores, and has increased its active installed base to more than 2.5 billion devices. In addition, Apple said services became a business generating more than $100 billion annually under Cook, while its transition to Apple-designed silicon strengthened performance and efficiency across major product categories.

Apple’s statement also highlighted areas beyond revenue and product launches. The company said its carbon footprint fell by more than 60 percent below 2015 levels during a period in which revenue nearly doubled. It also said Cook pushed privacy, security, accessibility, and workplace inclusion more deeply into Apple’s decision-making and product development. Those points formed a major part of the company’s case for Cook’s long-term impact beyond financial growth alone.

Ternus’s background in the announcement was centered on hardware engineering. Apple said he joined its product design team in 2001, became a vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013, and joined the executive team in 2021 as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. The company credited him with overseeing engineering work across major product categories and said he played a key role in the introduction of product lines such as iPad and AirPods, along with multiple generations of iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch devices.

Apple also pointed to more recent product work under Ternus. The company said his team helped drive the recent Mac lineup, including MacBook Neo, and the latest iPhone range, including iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17. Apple further said Ternus led work tied to product durability, materials innovation, repairability, and lower-carbon hardware design, including a recycled aluminum compound used across product lines and 3-D printed titanium in Apple Watch Ultra 3. Before joining Apple, the company said, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems and earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

The transition marks one of Apple’s most important leadership changes since Cook succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011. Based on Apple’s announcement, the company is framing the move as a planned internal succession rather than a sudden management shift. For investors, employees, and the wider technology sector, the change will place one of Apple’s longest-serving hardware leaders at the center of the company’s next phase while Cook remains involved from the board level.