Tengrinews.kz — Apple is undergoing sweeping leadership changes, marking its biggest shake-up since the death of Steve Jobs. The company announced the appointment of John Ternus, its longtime head of hardware engineering, as chief executive officer. Tim Cook stepped down from the role the day before.
Starting September 1, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus will lead Apple, while Tim Cook will take on the role of Executive Chairman of the Board.
“Cook will continue in his role as CEO through the summer as he works closely with Ternus on a smooth transition,” Apple said in a press release.
Cook announced the leadership change in a letter to the community, while the company published the details in its official press release.
Ternus, who has worked at Apple since 2001, will also join the board of directors. According to Reuters, he played a key role in reviving Mac sales, introduced the iPhone Air — the biggest update to the lineup since 2017 — helped expand the iPad and AirPods businesses, and broadened product differentiation by launching the Mac and iPhone Pro lines alongside more affordable MacBook Neo and iPhone models.
Tim Cook, who had led Apple since August 2011, is credited with increasing the company’s stock value twentyfold. He was brought to Apple by Steve Jobs in the late 1990s, when Jobs was rescuing the company from bankruptcy.
Amid the industry’s restructuring around artificial intelligence, Apple now faces pressure to accelerate its development in this area. Despite launching Siri as early as 2011, the company has yet to deliver breakthrough AI products, while new players, including OpenAI, have attracted hundreds of millions of users, Reuters notes. Apple has also lost its position as the world’s most valuable company to Nvidia.
Cook said it had been the greatest honor of his life to serve as CEO and that he “loves Apple with all his heart,” thanking the team for their trust and their years of shared work.
