John Ternus Takes Over as Apple CEO, Ending Tim Cook’s 15-Year Tenure

New Delhi — Apple entered a new leadership era Tuesday as longtime hardware executive John Ternus became chief executive officer, succeeding Tim Cook after 15 years at the helm of the technology giant.

Ternus officially took over as CEO on Sept. 1 and also joined Apple’s board of directors. Cook, who had led Apple since August 2011, moved into the newly created role of executive chairman.

The transition was announced by Apple in April following unanimous approval by its board.

Ternus joined Apple’s Product Design team in 2001 and rose through the company’s hardware organization, becoming senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. He has overseen engineering work across major Apple products, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac and AirPods.

Cook described leading Apple as “the greatest privilege of my life” when the succession plan was announced and praised Ternus for his technical expertise, product focus and leadership.

Cook took over from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011 and oversaw a dramatic expansion of the company. During his tenure, Apple’s market value grew from roughly $350 billion to more than $4 trillion as the company expanded beyond the iPhone into wearables, services and other businesses.

Apple’s services operation also became a major source of recurring revenue under Cook, fueled by businesses including the App Store, Apple Music and Apple Pay.

Ternus takes charge as Apple faces growing pressure to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence, an area where the company has faced questions about whether it is keeping pace with rivals.

His tenure is expected to focus heavily on integrating AI capabilities across Apple’s existing hardware and software ecosystem while maintaining the company’s large installed customer base and global supply chain.

Cook will remain closely involved with Apple as executive chairman, with a focus that includes global policy and selected strategic matters. (Source: IANS)