Who will succeed Tim Cook as Apple CEO?
What's the story
John Ternus, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, is the frontrunner to succeed Tim Cook as the company's CEO. A Bloomberg report has revealed that Apple may also be considering a major reshuffle at its top management level. As Cook is turning 65 next month, COO Jeff Williams has already handed over day-to-day operations to Sabih Khan and is on his way out.
Future involvement
Cook's potential post-retirement role
Despite stepping down as CEO, Cook is likely to continue playing a role in some capacity, possibly as board chairman. This is similar to the post-retirement roles of Jeff Bezos at Amazon, Larry Ellison at Oracle, Bill Gates at Microsoft, and Reed Hastings at Netflix. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman emphasized that this continuity will be crucial for navigating Donald Trump's presidency through 2029.
Leadership potential
Ternus's profile and Apple's current status
Ternus, who is 50 years old, fits the profile of a technologist rather than a salesperson at the helm. This is in line with Apple's ambitions. The company has expanded its in-house chipset portfolio, and the new iPhone 17 series has been well-received by customers. However, it has struggled to make headway in mixed reality, generative AI (artificial intelligence), smart homes, and autonomous driving technologies.
Product oversight
Ternus's recent visibility at Apple
Ternus was in the limelight at Apple's annual hardware event in September, which saw the launch of iPhone 17 Air. This was the first major design overhaul for the smartphone family in years. Over time, he has taken on more responsibilities under Cook, including product roadmaps, features, and strategies. He has been overseeing matters beyond a traditional hardware engineering chief's role.
Management changes
Other top executives likely to exit with Cook
Along with Cook, Apple may witness a major change in its upper management. This includes the departure of COO Williams, AI chief John Giannandrea, and head of hardware technologies Johny Srouji. Giannandrea's future is uncertain after the mixed rollout of Apple Intelligence and a failed Siri overhaul. Srouji, who leads Apple's A-series and M-series chips group, could be replaced by Zongjian Chen or Sri Santhanam.