Apple appoints John Ternus as new CEO, reflecting on a quarter-century of growth
John Ternus has taken over as Apple’s chief executive, succeeding Tim Cook, and shared a confidence-humility lesson he learned when he first joined the company.
John Ternus officially succeeded Tim Cook as chief executive of Apple, marking the end of Cook’s 15-year tenure. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001 at age 26, described feeling intimidated by the talent around him and adopted a mindset of equal confidence and humility to combat impostor syndrome. His career progressed from designing the Cinema Display to managing hardware for G5 iMacs, then overseeing iPad, Mac, iPhone Pro and AirPods development as vice president of hardware engineering.
By 2013 he was vice president, later senior vice president reporting directly to Cook, before being named CEO. In his farewell memo, Cook praised Ternus as brilliant and capable, underscoring the continuity of Apple’s product-driven culture.
Why it matters
Apple’s leadership change could influence the direction of its $4.6 trillion business and future tech products.
How this story developed
- Sep 9 Apple unveils iPhone Duo and new iPhone 18 Pro lineup with pricing for Hungary
- Sep 9 Apple announced its first foldable iPhone Duo and new iPhone 18 Pro models at the first event led by new CEO John Ternus.
- Sep 10 Apple detailed specifications, pricing and the September 12 pre‑order start date for the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro models.
- Sep 12 Apple’s website now shows pricing for the Philippines in addition to Hungary.
- Sep 12 Apple opened pre-orders on September 12 for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in India, with deliveries slated for September 18 and prices starting at Rs 1,64,900.
- Sep 18 Apple’s simultaneous store openings on Friday triggered massive queues in Sydney, Seoul and several Indian cities.
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