John Ternus becomes Apple CEO on 1 September

John Ternus takes over as Apple chief executive on 1 September. Tim Cook becomes executive chairman of the board the same day.

Apple announced the succession in April. The board approved it unanimously. Cook stays engaged on the transition and on policy work abroad. Arthur Levinson, the long-time non-executive chairman, becomes lead independent director. Ternus joins the board.

Ternus has been at Apple since 2001. He became senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2021. His brief has covered iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods and Apple Watch work, including the shift to Apple silicon on Mac.

Cook became CEO in 2011 after Steve Jobs. Apple's own April release put market value growth from about $350 billion then to about $4 trillion, with fiscal 2025 revenue above $416 billion. Services grew into a more than $100 billion business on his watch.

The handover lands as Apple faces sharper questions on artificial intelligence. Rivals have spent heavily on generative AI. Apple has moved more slowly and has drawn on outside models for parts of its assistant work.

This is the biggest leadership change at Apple since 2011. India is a growth market for iPhone and services, so the person who sets product pace matters here too.

Ternus is an engineer by training, not an operations specialist in Cook's mould. The company is signalling product and silicon continuity more than a cultural break.

The AI gap is the open test. Cook built scale, supply chain strength, and a services engine. Ternus inherits that machine and the question of whether Apple can move faster on on-device AI without losing the control that defined the Cook years.

A September product event usually follows close after a date like this. The new CEO will own whatever ships next.

Ternus becomes CEO tomorrow. Cook stays as executive chairman. The first public test will be how the new team talks about AI and the next iPhone cycle.