A New Era for Apple: Engineer John Ternus Takes Over as CEO, Replacing Tim Cook
A leadership transition that lasted several months in the global tech industry has concluded. Effective September 1, 2026, 51-year-old John Ternus, who previously headed the company's hardware division, officially assumed the position of CEO of Apple. Tim Cook, who led Apple for 15 years and built it into a giant with a market capitalization of over $4.5 trillion, has assumed the position of Executive Chairman of the Board.
Experts call John Ternus' appointment a symbolic return to Apple's "engineering roots." A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in mechanical engineering, Ternus joined Apple in 2001. Over a quarter-century at the company, he rose from a designer of Cinema Display monitors to a senior vice president overseeing the creation of key products—iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and the Vision Pro headset. It was under his leadership that one of Apple's most successful technical projects of recent years took place: the transition of Mac computers from Intel processors to Apple Silicon chips.
Immediately after Ternus's official inauguration, Apple updated its new CEO's biography, clearly outlining the development vectors under his leadership. Reliability, durability, and materials innovation are declared Ternus's top priorities. The new Apple CEO intends to focus on improving the repairability of devices to extend their life cycles, as well as on the use of eco-friendly composites—specifically, recycled aluminum and 3D-printed titanium.
International analysts, assessing the personnel changes in Cupertino, note the high market demand for a return to product visionary thinking. British newspaper The Telegraph emphasized that the new CEO's primary goal will be to restore the "magic of Steve Jobs"—the ability to surprise the market with bold design and engineering solutions in an era of rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
Tim Cook, in his capacity as Executive Chairman, will continue to oversee strategic issues and relations with government regulators worldwide.
