Apple announced Monday that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO after 14 years. John Ternus, the company’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, will succeed him effective September 1, 2026.
Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman, while Ternus will join the company’s board of directors. Arthur Levinson, who has served as Apple’s non-executive chairman for 15 years, will step down from that role to become lead independent director, also on September 1. Johny Srouji, previously SVP of Hardware Technologies, will take over Ternus’s hardware engineering responsibilities effective immediately.
The CEO change was approved unanimously by Apple’s board of directors following what the company described as a “thoughtful, long-term succession planning process.” Cook will continue as CEO through the summer, working closely with Ternus on the transition. In his new executive chairman role, Cook will assist with select company matters, with a focus on engagement with global policymakers.
In a statement, Cook said the role had been the defining chapter of his professional life. “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 praised his successor directly: “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. He is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”
Ternus, 51, has spent nearly his entire career at Apple. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, joined Apple’s product design team in 2001, and became VP of Hardware Engineering by 2013. He was promoted to senior vice president in 2021 – at the time, the youngest member of Apple’s executive team. In that role, he oversaw the development of the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and AirPods lines.
Ternus said he is “profoundly grateful” for the opportunity. “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. I am humbled to step into this role, and I promise to lead with the values and vision that have come to define this special place for half a century,” he said.
This marks Apple’s first CEO transition since Cook succeeded Steve Jobs in 2011, shortly before Jobs’ death. Ternus will become Apple’s eighth chief executive. Apple’s market cap grew more than 20-fold under Cook’s leadership, closing Monday at $4 trillion.
The transition takes effect on September 1, 2026, when Ternus officially assumes the CEO title and joins Apple’s board.
