John Ternus Becomes Apple’s CEO as Tim Cook Moves to Executive Chair

John Ternus officially became Apple’s chief executive on Tuesday, taking over from Tim Cook as part of a planned leadership transition that moves Cook into the role of executive chair.

The change, effective Sept. 1, completes the succession Apple announced on April 20, when the company said its board had unanimously approved the move following a “thoughtful, long-term succession planning process.” Apple’s leadership page now lists Ternus as CEO and Cook as executive chair.

Cook had served as Apple CEO since Aug. 24, 2011, after Steve Jobs resigned. Apple has described his stint in the job as a 15-year tenure. In its April announcement, Apple said the company’s market value grew from about $350 billion to $4 trillion under Cook, while fiscal revenue increased from $108 billion in 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025. Cook said at the time, “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple … I love Apple with all of my being.”

Ternus, 51, is a longtime Apple executive best known for leading hardware engineering. According to Apple, he joined the company in 2001, became a vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013 and joined Apple’s executive team in 2021 as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. Apple said he has overseen hardware engineering for the iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods and other product lines. In April, Ternus said, “I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward.”

Apple also disclosed governance and compensation changes tied to the transition in a Form 8-K/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. The company said Ternus joined Apple’s board effective Sept. 1, while longtime Chair Arthur Levinson became lead independent director.

According to the filing, Ternus’ base salary was raised to $3 million effective Sept. 1. He also received a prorated fiscal 2026 restricted stock unit, or RSU, award with a target value of $2.5 million, plus a fiscal 2027 equity award with a target value of $55 million. Apple said 75% of that fiscal 2027 award is performance-based and tied to Apple’s total shareholder return relative to the S&P 500, with the remaining 25% time-based.

Cook’s annual salary will be $2 million effective Sept. 26, according to the filing. Apple also granted him a fiscal 2027 equity award with a target value of $45 million, split evenly between performance-based and time-based stock awards.

The leadership transition does not mark Cook’s departure from the company. Instead, it formalizes a handoff Apple laid out months ago, with Cook remaining in a senior board role as Ternus takes over day-to-day leadership.

Ternus’ first major public milestone as CEO is close behind: Apple has a product event scheduled for Sept. 9, eight days after the transition took effect.