Apple Names John Ternus CEO; Tim Cook to Become Executive Chairman on Sept. 1, 2026

Apple said Monday that Tim Cook will step down as chief executive and become executive chairman on Sept. 1, 2026, while hardware chief John Ternus will take over as CEO in a formally approved succession at one of the world’s largest companies.

The iPhone maker said in a press release dated April 20 that its board of directors unanimously approved the transition. Cook will remain CEO through the summer and work closely with Ternus on the handover, Apple said. The company also said Arthur Levinson, its current non-executive chairman, will become lead independent director on Sept. 1, and that Ternus will join Apple’s board the same day. In his new role, Cook will continue to assist with parts of the business, including “engaging with policymakers around the world,” according to Apple.

Ternus is currently Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, a job that puts him in charge of hardware engineering across the company’s biggest product lines, including the iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods. Apple said he joined its product design team in 2001, became vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013 and joined the executive team as senior vice president in 2021. Before Apple, Ternus worked at Virtual Research Systems and earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

The move marks Apple’s first CEO transition since 2011, when Cook succeeded co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined Apple in 1998 and has led the company through a period of enormous growth. Apple said its market capitalization rose from about $350 billion when Cook became CEO to $4 trillion, while annual revenue increased from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025. The company also said it now has an active installed base of more than 2.5 billion devices and operates more than 500 retail stores. Around the time of the announcement, Apple shares were trading at about $273.05, for a market capitalization of roughly $4.049 trillion, according to a contemporaneous market snapshot.

Cook endorsed his successor in the announcement, saying: “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 a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.” Ternus said he was “profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward” and that he was “humbled to step into this role.”

The governance structure underscores that Cook is not leaving Apple altogether. Instead, day-to-day leadership will pass to Ternus while Cook remains in a senior board role with ongoing responsibilities. Levinson’s move to lead independent director also reshapes the board leadership alongside the management handover.

The announcement formalizes a succession plan that had been the subject of outside reporting for years. Bloomberg and the Financial Times, citing Reuters, had previously identified Ternus as a leading internal candidate to succeed Cook. With Monday’s decision, Apple has set a clear timetable for its first CEO handover in 15 years, closing the loop on one of the most closely watched leadership questions in corporate America.