Meet John Ternus, Apple Executive Who Might Replace CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook may leave his post as early as next year, with the company's board and senior executives accelerating succession plans, the Financial Times reported.

John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, has come up as the “most likely” successor, as per Bloomberg.

Cook, who has led the tech giant since 2011, is reportedly considering stepping aside after 14 years at the top.

Who Is John Ternus?

1. John Ternus studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, as per his LinkedIn. He began his career the same year as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Inc., where he worked for four years.
2. He was a former competitive college swimmer. In 1994, Ternus won both the 50-metre freestyle and the 200-metre individual medley and represented the varsity swim team multiple times, as per a 1994 report in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
3. In July 2001, Ternus joined Apple's Product Design team. His early work placed him at the core of Apple's hardware development during a period of rapid innovation.
4. Over the next decade, Ternus contributed to hardware engineering across major product lines. In 2013, he was promoted to vice president of Hardware Engineering, succeeding Dan Riccio.
5. Ternus has since overseen engineering for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and other key devices. He has been majorly involved in major hardware transitions, like Apple's move from Intel processors to its in-house Apple Silicon (M-series chips) for the Mac. He has been a key presence at Apple events in recent years. Ternus has frequently led keynote segments, introducing new hardware such as the latest iPhone lineup and the new iPhone Air.

What Tim Cook Said

Although Apple has remained tight-lipped about who will succeed Tim Cook, the CEO, in 2023, said that “very detailed succession plans” were already in place. He offered no hints about who is on that list. “My job is to prepare several people for the ability to succeed, and I really want the person to come from within Apple,” Cook said in a 2023 podcast interview with singer Dua Lipa.