Apple is handing the CEO role to its hardware chief. This September, Tim Cook will step down as Apple’s chief executive and John Ternus — the company’s hardware boss — will take over. The move accelerates a shift away from executives tied to Steve Jobs’s inner circle and places hardware engineering at the center of Apple’s next chapter.
A handover rooted in hardware
John Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and rose through engineering ranks to become vice president of hardware engineering under Tim Cook. The board’s decision to elevate Ternus makes hardware expertise the defining trait of the new CEO — a clear signal about where Apple sees its edge.
Several of Apple’s recent product wins — from revised iPhones to mixed-reality hardware — were driven by teams Ternus helped lead. That background gives him operational credibility with engineering teams and with a partner network that expects tight control over design, supply chains and manufacturing.
Apple’s new leadership will replace a CEO who ran the company for more than a decade. Tim Cook took over in 2011 and oversaw Apple’s expansion into services and wearables, plus the creation of multibillion-dollar revenue lines that didn’t exist in the Jobs era. Ternus now inherits a company whose revenue mix is broader, its product lines more varied, and its challenges different from those Cook faced when he first took the reins.
Who from the Jobs era still matters
- Eddy Cue — Senior vice president of services; has spoken publicly about his close relationship with Steve Jobs.
- Phil Schiller — Longtime marketing executive who worked with Jobs on the Mac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad; after stepping back in 2020 he still oversees major parts of the App Store.
- Greg Joswiak — At Apple since 1986; played roles on the original iPod and iPhone launches and moved into marketing leadership in 2020.
- Craig Federighi — Apple's software chief who worked at NeXT under Jobs and remains the face of iOS and macOS engineering decisions.
These holdovers provide continuity on services and software as Ternus projects a hardware-first agenda. The mix of long-tenured managers and more recently promoted leaders will shape how Apple balances its software ecosystems, App Store economics, and device roadmap.
Who’s left and what their exits mean
- Scott Forstall — Once a leading iOS figure, ousted early in Cook’s tenure after the troubled Apple Maps launch.
- Bob Mansfield — Key in the Mac’s move to Intel and later worked on Apple Watch and other projects before retiring after multiple returns to active duty.
- Dan Riccio — Described in coverage as a key hardware engineering leader who later led work on Vision Pro and then departed.
- Jeff Williams — Former chief operating officer involved in early hardware decisions such as the original iPhone’s glass screen; he has since left.
- Jony Ive — Apple’s design icon and close collaborator with Jobs, who left the company in 2019 after stepping back from day-to-day duties.
Those exits have thinned the number of senior leaders who personally knew or worked side-by-side with Jobs. The result is a leadership team now defined more by people who built their careers under Cook or later, which could push product and organizational priorities in new directions under Ternus.
Related Articles
- Hardware Chief John Ternus Inherits Apple’s AI Problem
- Citizen Lab: Surveillance vendors posed as carriers to track phones
- Amazon Music Adds Bandsintown Concert Listings
The handover takes effect in September; Eddy Cue will remain in a senior services role, providing continuity as Apple pivots toward hardware-led leadership.
This article was created with AI assistance.
