John Ternus succeeds Tim Cook as Apple CEO

Apple Inc.'s leadership transition officially took effect on Tuesday, with John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as chief executive officer and Cook becoming executive chairman of the company's board of directors.

Apple's updated leadership page now lists Ternus as CEO and a member of the board, while Cook is now listed as executive chair.

Apple announced the succession plan on April 20, saying the transition had been unanimously approved by its board and followed a long-term succession planning process. Cook remained CEO through the summer and worked closely with Ternus on the transition. As executive chairman, Cook will continue to assist with certain aspects of the company, including engagement with policymakers around the world.

Cook, who joined Apple in 1998, became CEO in 2011 and led the company for about 15 years. During his tenure, Apple introduced new product categories including Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro, as well as services ranging from iCloud and Apple Pay to Apple TV and Apple Music.

Apple said in April that under Cook's leadership, its market capitalization had grown from approximately $350 billion to $4 trillion, while annual revenue had risen from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025.

In a public letter to the Apple community, Cook reflected on his 15 years as CEO and said the transition was "not goodbye." He described Ternus as a brilliant engineer and thinker who had spent 25 years helping build Apple products.

Ternus joined Apple's product design team in 2001, became a vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013 and joined the executive team as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2021.

He has overseen hardware engineering across a range of Apple products and played a key role in the introduction of iPad and AirPods, as well as multiple generations of iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch.

In his April statement, Ternus said he had spent almost his entire career at Apple, had worked under Steve Jobs and had Cook as his mentor. He pledged to lead the company according to the values and vision that have defined Apple for half a century.

Apple disclosed in a filing on Tuesday that Ternus' base salary was increased to $3 million, the same as Cook's salary as CEO. There will also be an annual equity award with a $55 million target value, starting 2027, a majority of which will be tied to the company's stock performance.

Cook, meanwhile, will earn $2 million annually, effective September 26, and restricted stock units ‌in 2027 with a target value of $45 million. His total compensation for 2025 exceeded $74 million.

AI a big challenge

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to be one of Ternus' biggest challenges, as Apple has faced criticism for falling behind rivals in introducing advanced AI features, including delays in upgrading Siri with more powerful capabilities.

"AI is the single biggest challenge for Ternus. Apple needs to demonstrate that AI will be more than an app on the iPhone, more than Siri," said Brian Mulberry, chief ​market strategist at Zacks Investment Management, which owns Apple stock.

The September 9 iPhone event will be the first public measure of the handover. A foldable iPhone would be the most significant redesign in years, and Ternus will be its face – only eight days after taking over the position.

(With input from agencies)