John Ternus is Apple's chief executive as of today

John Ternus became Apple’s chief executive on Tuesday, September 1. Tim Cook, who ran the company from 2011, is now executive chairman. (Source: Apple Newsroom)

Apple announced the succession on April 20, with the board’s unanimous approval. Ternus, 51, joined Apple in 2001, became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 and senior vice president in 2021. He joins the board today. Arthur Levinson, non-executive chairman for 15 years, becomes lead independent director, and Johny Srouji becomes chief hardware officer. (Source: Fortune)

What Cook keeps

As executive chairman, Cook “will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world,” Apple said. In April he wrote that he would be “leaving the CEO job behind in September.”

What Ternus inherits

• Revenue of $109.4 billion in the June quarter, up 16%, a record for the period
• A September-quarter guide of 9–11% growth, with supply constraints across iPhone, Mac and iPad and gross margin of 47–48%
• Memory prices that Cook described as “a 100-year flood”
• Siri AI, which Apple has not yet been able to offer in the European Union on iPhone and iPad
• An installed base of more than 2.5 billion active devices

Ternus appeared on Cook’s final earnings call in July. Asked about AI devices from OpenAI and others, he said “there is so much opportunity for us with everything that’s happening in this space. We’re just really focused on our plans and very excited about it.”

Pay

Apple set Ternus’s salary at $3 million, with a fiscal 2027 equity target of $55 million. Cook’s salary as executive chairman is $2 million from September 26, with a $45 million equity target. (Source: Apple Investor Relations)