After 15 years, Tim Cook handed over the CEO role of Apple to John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering. On Tuesday, Ternus now leads one of the most valuable companies in the world. But if you’re not a dedicated Apple enthusiast, you may never have heard of this man, who remained in the spotlight until he was announced as Cook’s successor in April.
Ternus is taking on the role of CEO at an important time for Apple. Next week, the company will host its iPhone launch event, unveiling its latest line of hardware. Apple will also soon launch its new and improved Siri AI experience, powered by Google’s Gemini.
“I take great comfort in handing over the helm to someone as smart and wonderful and capable as John,” Tim Cook wrote to employees on his last day as CEO.
Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman.
How long has John Ternus worked at Apple?
Ternus has worked at Apple for almost half of his life – now 51 years old, he has been with the company for 25 years.
He joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 as only his second job out of college (his first was at a small maker of virtual-reality devices called Virtual Research Systems). In 2013, Ternus was VP of hardware engineering and was promoted to SVP in 2021.
Ternus – who is 15 years younger than Cook – is among the top Apple executives rumored as a possible successor, meaning Apple could be looking for someone to lead the company for a long time. After all, Apple has only had two CEOs this millennium, so it seems that leadership continuity is important to the company.
Ternus previously reported to Cook, whom he considered a mentor, and led all hardware engineering at Apple. That’s a pretty big deal for a company known for mainstream hardware like the iPhone and MacBook.
In his 2024 commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering, Ternus reflected on the lessons he learned at Apple, which perhaps can tell us a little about his character – or at least a clean version of it.
“Always assume you’re smarter than the other person in the room, but don’t assume you know as much as they do,” Ternus said in a speech. “With this mindset, you will find the confidence you need to boost, but more importantly, the humility to ask questions.”
In a tech ecosystem full of bruised egos, it’s refreshing to hear Ternus say the word “humility.” Better, he just participate X!
What project did John Ternus lead at Apple?
Ternus’ first project at Apple involved testing parts for the Apple Cinema Display, an early computer monitor.
“At some point in my first year, I found myself at the supplier’s place. I was far from home. At midnight, I was using a magnifying glass to count the number of grooves in the head of the screw … and I argued with the supplier because these parts have 35 grooves. They should have 25 grooves,” in his words Ternus. “I distinctly remember stepping back for a minute and thinking, ‘What am I doing? Is this normal?’
As Ternus climbed the corporate ladder, his responsibilities increased. He may not spend as much time analyzing the screws, but he seems to take pride in getting the little details right. Recently The interviewWhen Ternus was asked about his favorite memory of Steve Jobs, he mentioned the former Apple co-founder’s interest in crafts.
“(Jobs) was moving the furniture, the chest of drawers, and pulling it off the wall and looking back and just thinking, you know, that the carpenter who made it made it beautiful,” Ternus said. “It finishes the back just as beautifully as the rest of it, even though nobody’s going to see it, right? And I think about that all the time because I think it’s a perfect example of what we’re doing here.”
He then went on to lead the hardware development behind products across the Apple ecosystem, overseeing launches such as AirPods, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. He also had major technical upgrades at Apple, such as Apple’s transition from Intel chips to Apple’s own silicon.
Recently, Ternus has been involved in the production of MacBook Neo, a new version of Apple’s cheaper laptop that has reduced costs through some clever trade-offs in hardware design such as using iPhone chips to power the device.
“We never want to ship garbage. We want to deliver a good product with the Apple experience, the quality of Apple. To do that with Neo we need to create something completely new from the ground up … using both the technology that we have developed such as Apple silicon, but also the expertise that we have developed over many, many years of building Macs, and building phones, and all the buildings, the iPad and all the buildings.” Tom’s Guide.
As CEO, Ternus will have to guide Apple through its challenges to keep up with AI competition and figure out what to do with the technology behind Vision Pro.
What else do we know about John Ternus?
Ternus is on the swim team at Penn. For his senior project, he created a feeding arm that people with quadriplegia could control with head movements.
according to Public records From political donations, Ternus donated $2,900 to Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2021.
Otherwise, Ternus has kept a relatively low profile.
This article was originally published on April 20, 2026, and has been updated to reflect that Ternus has taken over as CEO.
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