Who Is John Ternus, Potential Successor To Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple is focusing on its hardware chief, John Ternus, as a change of guard appears imminent at the Cuptertino-based tech giant. With COO Jeff Williams planning to leave and CEO Tim Cook nearing 65 years of age, Ternus has emerged as a leading contender to succeed Cook at the helm of the company.

Ternus has been a key figure in Apple’s chip transition and product design. He recently introduced the iPhone Air, the first major iPhone redesign in years. In recent times, his public role has grown, with more media appearances and internal visibility.

While Ternus isn’t known for bold, risky moves, his steady leadership and deep engineering background may appeal to Apple's board.

John Ternus is currently 50 years old. For those who don’t know, Tim Cook was the same age when he took over as Apple CEO. This works in favour of Ternus, making him a strong long-term option.

Ternus also brings deep technical expertise, which the company may now be focusing on over operational or sales skills. While Cook led Apple through massive growth, the company has hit roadblocks in some areas like mixed reality and AI.

Ternus is Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering. He reports directly to CEO Tim Cook. He oversees all hardware teams at Apple. This includes work on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and AirPods, among others.

He joined Apple in 2001 as part of the product design team. In 2013, he became Vice President of Hardware Engineering. Over the years, he has played a key role in many major product launches. He helped lead the development of every iPad model. He also worked on the latest iPhone lineup and AirPods.

Ternus has been a major figure in Apple’s shift to Apple silicon for the Mac. He is known for his deep understanding of product design and engineering.

"Throughout his tenure at Apple, John has overseen hardware engineering work on a variety of groundbreaking products, including every generation and model of iPad, the latest iPhone lineup, and AirPods," the company said on its website.

Before joining Apple, John worked at Virtual Research Systems as a mechanical engineer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.