Recently, Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook announced that he will be stepping down from his position. Less than a day later, Apple announced John Ternus as Cook’s replacement. Cook had been there for 15 years, and his decision to step down came as a shock to many outside Apple.
No one knows much about the new CEO, Ternus, so here are 5 interesting facts about the man who will be taking over as the new Chief Executive Officer at the biggest tech giant in the world.
1. Competitive swimmer in college
Born in May 1975, Ternus studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, fondly called Penn. While at Penn, Ternus was a varsity swimmer and became an all-time letterwinner for the university’s swim team in 1994, showcasing discipline alongside his academics. So while he has always had a passion for machines and hardware, that’s clearly not all he was interested in.
2. Has worked with all CEOs of Apple to date
He joined Apple’s Product Design team in 2001, which means that he joined while the late founder Steve Jobs was the CEO. Ternus worked under Jobs for 10 years, but not directly with him. He became Vice President (VP) of Hardware Engineering in 2013, 2 years after Cook became CEO.
The Penn graduate then became Senior VP of the same position 8 years after that. Apple has had just 2 CEOs so far, and Ternus worked under both, though he now reports directly to the CEO. Not anymore, for obvious reasons.
3. Apple was his second job after college
Ternus was clearly a prodigy, because it didn’t take long for Apple to notice him. The 50-year-old Penn graduate has only worked at two companies in his whole life. The first was at Virtual Research Systems as an engineer.
There he designed several headsets and Virtual Reality (VR) products. He spent just 4 years there before being snapped up by Apple under the leadership of Jobs. He has now spent nearly 25 years of his life as an Apple employee.
4. Played a key role in every major Apple product you love
As a member of the Apple Product Design Team, then later VP and then SVP of Hardware Engineering, Ternus played key roles in and oversaw the engineering for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple Vision Pro, and more. He has contributed to virtually every major product line you love.
Of course, this also means he was the mastermind behind that iPhone 17 Air everyone hated. But it’s all part of the game. He started making his mark from Day 1, even advocating for the transition to iPadOS for better and faster hardware. This explains why the iPad’s processing has only gotten faster over the years.
5. Same age as Cook at the same stage. The Chosen One?
You’ll love this one. Did you know that Ternus is the same age Cook was when he became Apple CEO? Yes. Cook spent 15 years at the helm, and for 5 years out of that, Ternus was reporting directly to him. Cook is not leaving Apple, he’s becoming Executive Chairman, so Ternus is likely to spend even more time as CEO before he steps down.
Ternus’s journey at Apple is inspiring, joining Apple 4 years after graduation and immediately becoming a key part of everything good the company is known for. His work in the design and production of all major Apple products up until this point positions him as the best man to take over and lead the direction of the most profitable tech company in the world for the coming years.
Conclusion
Ternus takes over from Cook officially on September 1, 2026. He has been influential in the Apple setup for close to 25 years and knows the ins and outs of all the products. This means Apple lovers can rest assured that the products won’t suffer. Leading Apple is a big deal, and Ternus already has leadership experience, though he will now need to lead a different kind of group.
As head of hardware engineering, he was leading technical teams. As CEO, he’s leading leaders, some of whom are business leaders in their own right. Striking that balance would do him a world of good.
- Did you know these facts about the New Apple CEO John Ternus?
- Youth Music Awards Opens New Work Opportunity
- The Midnight Deadline: Why Renters Must Act Now
- Everything You Need to Know About Keir Starmer’s Looming Judgement Day
- New Poll Finds British Women Largely Unsatisfied with Men
If you enjoyed this article and want to read more, there’s a whole archive of articles on topics like this and so many others. We do a newsletter discussing articles written this week you may have missed. Subscribe here to get access to the mailing list.
