- John Ternus described his first day at Apple as exhilarating and intimidating
- He emphasized humility and confidence in his 2024 University of Pennsylvania speech
- Ternus joined Apple in 2001 after graduating in mechanical engineering in 1997
Days after being named the next chief executive of the world's most valuable technology company, Apple's incoming CEO John Ternus is drawing renewed attention for a remarkably candid moment from his past where he described his first day at Apple.
It was 2024 commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, where he described his very first day at Apple in just two words: "Exhilarating and intimidating."
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"I wasn't sure I belonged there," Ternus told the graduating engineering students. "The people I met were so smart and so confident, and they knew so much more than me, but I'll always be grateful that I wasn't afraid to ask for help when I needed it."
The speech, which has resurfaced in the wake of Apple's announcement on Monday that Ternus will succeed Tim Cook as CEO effective Sept. 1, offers a rare glimpse into the mind of a man who has spent a quarter-century largely out of the public eye.
In the address, Ternus also told students: "Always assume you're as smart as anyone else in the room, but never assume that you know as much as they do. With this mindset, you'll find the confidence you need to push forward, but more importantly, the humility to ask questions."
Ternus graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 with a degree in mechanical engineering, balancing his studies with a competitive varsity swimming career.
After graduation, he worked as an engineer at Virtual Research Systems, an early virtual-reality headset firm, before joining Apple in 2001 as an engineer on the product design team. His first project was the Apple Cinema Display, a plastic desktop monitor.
Over the next 25 years, Ternus quietly climbed Apple's ranks. He oversaw the engineering behind the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro, becoming one of the company's most consequential figures behind the scenes.
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Meanwhile, Cook praised his successor, saying Ternus has "the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor." Ternus, for his part, said he was "humbled to step into this role," adding that he was "filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come."
Ternus will need to navigate challenges such as Apple's lagging artificial intelligence strategy and supply chain pressures as he steps out of the engineering labs and into the global spotlight.
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