#John Ternus

John Ternus officially became Apple's chief executive on September 1, 2026, completing a transition that the company announced in April. Tim Cook moved to executive chairman. Reports say he stayed on as CEO through the summer to work alongside Ternus, and that his new role includes engagement with policymakers around the world, particularly in China and Washington.

Arthur Levinson, who had been chairman for 15 years, became lead independent director. Ternus also joined Apple's board.

Ternus was born in 1975, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and joined Apple's product design team in 2001. He became senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021.

On April 20, 2026, Apple announced a major leadership transition: John Ternus, the company's senior vice president of hardware engineering, will become chief executive officer on September 1. Tim Cook, who has led Apple since 2011, will move into the role of executive chairman of the board.

The announcement framed the change as a planned handover after more than a decade under Cook. The coverage we reviewed did not lay out detailed reasons beyond that.

Ternus is an engineer by background and has long been responsible for the hardware side of Apple's product line. Ternus's promotion puts a hardware engineer in the company's top job.