Apple has announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO, becoming the executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
His successor and Apple’s new CEO will be John Ternus, currently the senior vice president of hardware engineering.
The transition is set to take place on the 1st of September, and has been approved unanimously by the company’s board of directors.
“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. I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world,” said Cook.
End of an Era
Tim Cook has steered the company for 15 years, becoming Apple CEO in 2011 after co-founder Steve Jobs resigned due to failing health.
Under his leadership the company has seen a dramatic increase in market capitalisation and a quadrupling of yearly revenue, with Apple’s install base reaching more than 2.5 billion devices.
The iPhone alone has grown into a US$210 billion per year business under Cook, representing nearly half of Apple’s revenue.
Apple’s vertical integration including Apple Silicon and services like Apple Pay and iCloud have seen strong growth under Cook’s leadership.
Cook’s continuing role as executive chairman will allow him to focus on liaising with policymakers around the world.
Apple’s CEO elect
John Ternus has been with the company since 2001 and has a background in product design and hardware engineering with the company.
He was instrumental in introducing popular product lines like the iPad and AirPods, driving advancements in both.
Ternus has also overseen the introduction of the new MacBook Neo that brings the Mac experience to a wider audience.
His expertise has reduced Apple’s carbon footprint with the introduction of recycled aluminium compounds across a range of product lines, while increasing durability with novel manufacturing techniques.
Our Take
I’m excited to see what direction Ternus will take the company in next.
His background in hardware engineering could produce some interesting new designs when it comes to refreshing devices across Apple’s leading product lines.
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