Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman John Ternus to become Apple CEO

Apple has announced that Tim Cook will transition from CEO to Executive Chairman, with John Ternus — currently SVP of Hardware Engineering — becoming the new CEO, both effective September 1, 2026. The transition was unanimously approved by the board. Cook joined Apple in 1998 and became CEO in 2011, overseeing Apple's growth from a $350B to $4T market cap. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001, has led hardware engineering across iPhone, Mac, iPad, and AirPods product lines. Arthur Levinson, Apple's non-executive chairman for 15 years, will become lead independent director on the same date.