On Sept. 1, 2026, Tim Cook stepped down as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple and has now transitioned to the role of executive chairman. Cook had been the front man for the company for fifteen years after the company’s previous CEO, Steve Jobs, resigned due to his declining health. John Ternus has now taken over the company after serving as Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.
Tim Cook joined the Apple team in 1998 as the company’s senior vice president of operations under then-CEO Steve Jobs. In 2002, he was promoted to executive vice president of worldwide sales and operations. Cook was responsible for all the company’s worldwide sales and operations while working closely with Jobs to lead Apple’s overall business. In 2005, he was again promoted to chief operating officer, replacing Jon Rubinstein.
Jobs’ health started to decline in 2003 as he was diagnosed with a rare neuroendocrine tumor in his pancreas. He later underwent various surgeries for the next eight years until he officially resigned as CEO of Apple in 2011. Cook, having stepped in various times as interim CEO when Jobs was unavailable due to his health issues, officially took the position.
During Cook’s fifteen years as CEO, he oversaw many new products and services the company created including the Apple Watch and AirPods while also expanding various lines of products such as the iPhone and iPad. Under Cook, the company grew to over 200 countries and territories around the world and Apple Services grew to become a more than $100 billion business. Apple has become one of the largest tech companies in history and has always brought re-invention to every single one of its products.
The announcement that Cook was stepping down was made earlier this year on April 20 during an official Newsroom release stating that Ternus will step in. Ternus was the senior vice president of hardware engineering since 2021 and was mentored by Cook since 2001. He oversaw hardware engineering work on various products, such as the iPad and various generations of the MacBook. The transition of power has been a smooth handover between both parties which can allow the company to innovate further into the future.
On Sept. 9, Apple held its annual iPhone event with Ternus as CEO. He introduced the company’s latest products with some new pressures as well. During Cook’s tenure, he scaled and expanded the iPhone and launched various services such as Apple Music and the Apple Card. Investors and analysts are hopeful that innovation will continue to evolve under Ternus due to his hardware engineering background.
Cook is now taking the role of executive chairman at the company where he will now lead and run board meetings and will support Ternus in his first few months as CEO.
“He is the perfect person for the job,” Cook wrote in his community letter posted on Apple’s website. “This company will reach such incredible heights under his leadership, and you will feel his impact in every bit of delight and discovery that grows out of the products and services to come.”
