Tim Cook will become executive chairman of the board of directors starting in September. (Photo/Reuters)
Apple has officially ushered in its largest leadership transition in 15 years. Tim Cook will end his term as CEO at the end of August and will become executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors starting on September 1. John Ternus, who has long been responsible for hardware engineering, will take over as CEO, officially starting the “Ternus Era.” This succession plan was announced as early as April this year and was unanimously approved by the board of directors. The handover was completed by Cook and Ternus during the summer.
Before leaving office, Cook sent a farewell letter to Apple employees, admitting that although he had known that this day would eventually come, it was still unbelievable to face it. He said that what he cherishes most is not the results in the financial report, but the corporate culture and team spirit established by Apple, and he is grateful to the employees for the support and trust they have given him over the past 15 years.
Cook also emphasized that he was not leaving Apple, but changing roles. He felt comfortable handing over the company to Ternus, describing Ternus as having excellent product development capabilities and leadership qualities, especially understanding the technology and execution required to create “world-changing products.”
Looking back on Cook’s 15 years at the helm of Apple, since he took over as CEO in 2011, he has led the company to launch new categories such as Apple Watch, AirPods, and Vision Pro, while also expanding services such as iCloud, Apple Pay, and Apple Music. Apple’s market capitalization has also climbed from approximately US$350 billion to approximately US$4 trillion, with revenue in fiscal year 2025 exceeding US$416 billion.
The new CEO Ternus is Apple’s senior hardware engineering director. He has been with Apple for more than 25 years and has participated in many product and hardware designs. In the future, in addition to continuing product innovation, we will also face challenges such as artificial intelligence and global market competition. Cook will assist some of the company’s affairs as executive chairman, including communicating with global policymakers, and Apple has officially entered a new era.
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