Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple CEO on 1 September after nearly 15 years, during which Apple's market cap grew from $348 billion to roughly $4 trillion. John Ternus, 50, SVP of hardware engineering and overseer of ~80% of Apple's revenue-generating products, will become the company's fourth CEO. Cook will remain as executive chairman focused on regulatory and policy engagement. Ternus inherits significant challenges: Apple Intelligence is blocked in China, Siri's AI overhaul has hit internal testing issues, the company is developing smart glasses and a foldable iPhone, and Apple faces ongoing EU Digital Markets Act compliance proceedings and a $1.8 billion fine. The executive team has also been substantially rebuilt, with the COO, CFO, general counsel, AI chief, and head of UI design all having departed in recent years.
Table of contents
The engineer who ran the hardwareThe exodus around himWhat Cook builtWhat Ternus inheritsThe market’s verdictSort: