Apple CEO Tim Cook to Step Down; Hardware Chief John Ternus Named Successor

Apple Inc. announced on April 20, 2026, that CEO Tim Cook will transition to the role of Executive Chairman and hardware engineering head John Ternus will become Apple’s CEO effective September 1, 2026. The board unanimously approved the succession as part of a long-planned leadership transition. Cook will stay on through the summer to ensure a smooth handover, then focus on external affairs and policy. Shares of Apple (AAPL) were little changed – briefly rising about 1% intraday before ending down roughly 0.5% – on the news. Analysts noted that investors largely anticipated Cook’s retirement at age 65 and focused on how Ternus will tackle emerging challenges, especially in artificial intelligence.

Apple’s press release confirmed the details: on September 1, 2026, Cook will relinquish the CEO title and serve as Executive Chairman, while Ternus, 50, will take the CEO helm. The board’s announcement came after a unanimous vote, underscoring a long-term succession plan. Cook called the decision “the greatest privilege of my life,” praising Ternus as “a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years… are already too numerous to count,” and saying he is “without question the right person to lead Apple into the future”. Arthur Levinson, Apple’s longtime non-executive chairman, lauded Cook’s “unprecedented and outstanding leadership” and said the board was “thrilled” to see Ternus succeed him. (Levinson will become the lead independent director on Sept. 1.)

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’s legacy at Apple is historic. He joined Apple in 1998 and took over as CEO in 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs. Under Cook, Apple introduced new product lines (Apple Watch, AirPods, Vision Pro, etc.) and new services (iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple Music). The company’s market value exploded from about $350 billion in 2011 to roughly $4 trillion by 2025 – a growth of over 1,000% – and annual revenue nearly quadrupled in that period. During his tenure Apple expanded into more than 200 countries with 500 retail stores and grew its workforce by over 100,000 people. Cook also pushed Apple to embrace core values – from privacy advocacy to sustainability – and led the transition to Apple-designed silicon for its devices.

In turn, John Ternus is one of Apple’s most experienced engineers. He joined the company in 2001 and rose through hardware engineering ranks. In 2013 he became a vice president and in 2021 was promoted to Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering on Apple’s executive team. During those years Ternus helped drive the development of many Apple products. Apple notes that he was “instrumental” in introducing the iPad and AirPods and contributed to multiple generations of iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch. Reuters has reported that Ternus played a “central role” in reviving the Mac line, which has gained share against other PCs, and that he is respected within Apple for attention to product quality. (He co-led the introduction of recent designs like the MacBook Neo.) Ternus has largely operated out of the public eye, but his promotion reflects Apple’s preference for an insider with deep technical experience.

Apple has gone through three distinct eras. There was the garage-startup Steve Jobs, then the quiet-revolution Tim Cook, and now the hardware-first John Ternus era begins September 1. It is a transition that has been building for years and was widely expected inside Silicon Valley. Ternus is, by all accounts, an Apple lifer who knows the company at the deepest possible level.