Apple has officially completed its leadership transition, as John Ternus becomes CEO and Tim Cook moves into the Executive Chairman role.

Ternus became CEO on the 1st September 2026 following the company's planned leadership transition that was announced earlier this year. Tim Cook remains at the company as Executive Chairman, and will continue to represent the company, engaging with policymakers around the world.

This marks the biggest leadership change the company has seen in recent years, as Cook has been at the helm of Apple for over 15 years and was the direct successor to Steve Jobs himself.

Who Is John Ternus?

John Ternus has been at Apple for 25 years, working across hardware engineering and product development. During his time at Apple, he has been involved in the development of early iPod, iPhone and iPad models.

He was appointed Apple VP of Hardware Engineering in 2013, overseeing Mac, iPad and then-unreleased AirPods.

In 2021, he joined Apple's leadership team as SVP of Hardware Engineering, and overtime saw increased responsibility. After taking over leadership of Apple Watch hardware in 2022, Ternus had oversight of every major Apple product category.

Ternus has become increasingly visible in recent years, announcing the redesigned Mac Pro in 2019, unveiling the new design of Mac mini in 2024, and showcasing the iPhone Air at last year's September event.

Apple's new CEO has some big boots to fill, following Tim Cook's landmark 15 year tenure, the longest in history. Cook has overseen major change at Apple, helping transform the company from a $350 billion to an almost $5 trillion market cap. During his tenure, annual revenue has increased significantly from $108 billion in 2011, to $416.16 billion in 2025.

The company has also expanded into new product categories under Tim Cook, including the Apple Watch in 2015, AirPods in 2016 and Vision Pro in 2023, most of which have been a major success.

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What's Next For Apple?

The benefit of appointing John Ternus as Apple CEO, is that he has been the engineer behind many of Tim Cook's successes, helping develop the early versions of iPhone and iPad, leading product development of AirPods and overseeing the transition to Apple Silicon for the Mac.

Just next week, Apple will launch its first products of the Ternus era, including the rumoured iPhone 18 Pro, new Apple Watches, refreshed HomePods and potentially an all-new foldable iPhone.

Previous Role Holders

Previous CEOs

John Ternus becomes the eighth person to hold the role of Apple CEO, joining seven previous leaders:

  1. Michael Scott (1977–1981) 
  2. Mike Markkula (1981–1983) 
  3. John Sculley (1983–1993) 
  4. Michael Spindler (1993–1996) 
  5. Gil Amelio (1996–1997) 
  6. Steve Jobs (1997–2011) 
  7. Tim Cook (2011–2026) 
  8. John Ternus (2026–present)

Steve Jobs served as interim Apple CEO (iCEO) from 1997 until 2000.

Previous Chairmen

Tim Cook succeeds Arthur D. Levinson as Chairman of the Board. Levinson served as Non-Executive Chairman since Steve Jobs' death in October 2011, and will remain on Apple's board as lead independent director.

Previous Apple Chairmen includes:

  1. Mike Markkula (1977–1981)
  2. Steve Jobs (1985)
  3. Mike Markkula (1985–1997)
  4. Gil Amelio (1996–1997)
  5. Steve Jobs (2011)
  6. Arthur D. Levinson (2011–2026)
  7. Tim Cook (2026–present)