Apple Inc. announced on April 20, 2026, that Tim Cook will step down as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2026. Cook, who has led the company for 15 years, will transition into the role of Executive Chairman. The board of directors has appointed John Ternus, the current Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, to succeed Cook as CEO. This leadership change marks the end of an era for the Cupertino-based technology giant, which saw its market valuation increase by more than $3.6 trillion during Cook’s tenure.
John Ternus, 50, has been with Apple for 25 years and has spent the last five years overseeing the engineering of the company’s most critical hardware lines, including the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. His promotion continues Apple’s tradition of elevating internal leaders to the top executive post, a strategy previously seen when Cook succeeded co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011. Ternus has been instrumental in the company’s transition to Apple Silicon, a multi-year project that replaced third-party processors with proprietary designs. He has also become a prominent public face for the company during its annual product unveilings and developer conferences.
In a statement released by the company, Cook expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to lead Apple, stating that it has been the greatest privilege of his life. He noted his deep commitment to the company’s mission and his confidence in Ternus’s ability to lead the organization into its next phase of innovation. To accommodate Cook’s transition to Executive Chairman, Arthur Levinson will step down from his role as non-executive chairman of the board. Levinson, who has served as a director since 2000 and chairman since 2011, will retain his seat on the board of directors.
The transition comes at a time when Apple is managing significant shifts in its global operations and geopolitical strategy. Under Cook, the company navigated a period of intense globalization while simultaneously initiating a strategic pivot toward manufacturing diversification in regions such as India and Vietnam. This move was designed to mitigate supply chain risks and adapt to changing trade dynamics between the United States and China. Ternus will take the helm as Apple continues to integrate generative artificial intelligence across its software ecosystem and seeks to expand its presence in the spatial computing market following the launch of the Vision Pro.
The handover is structured similarly to recent executive transitions at other major American technology firms, such as Amazon and Netflix, where long-serving CEOs moved into chairmanship roles to oversee long-term strategy while handing daily operations to a successor. Apple confirmed that the transition process will be finalized by the end of the current fiscal year. The company has not yet named a successor for Ternus’s current position as head of hardware engineering.