After 15 transformative years at the helm of the world’s most valuable company, Tim Cook is stepping aside as chief executive of Apple, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus set to inherit one of the most coveted seats in global business.
The Cupertino-based group confirmed on Monday that Cook, 65, will become executive chairman of the board on 1 September, with Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, promoted to chief executive on the same date. The succession, approved unanimously by directors, caps what insiders describe as a patient, long-planned handover rather than a hurried passing of the baton.
Cook will remain chief executive through the summer, working alongside his successor to ensure a seamless transition. In his new chairman’s role, he is expected to focus on global policy engagement, a brief that has grown increasingly weighty as Apple navigates tariff regimes, artificial intelligence regulation and geopolitical pressure on its supply chain.
“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple,” Cook said in a statement. “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour. He is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”
The numbers behind Cook’s tenure make for arresting reading. Since succeeding the late Steve Jobs in 2011, Apple’s market capitalisation has swelled from roughly $350bn to $4tn, a gain of more than 1,000 per cent. Annual revenue has almost quadrupled, climbing from $108bn in the 2011 financial year to more than $416bn in 2025. Cook has added Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro to the firm’s hardware roster, while the Services division he championed now generates more than $100bn a year, a standalone business that would rank inside the Fortune 40.
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