Tim Cook, the man who led Apple through one of the most successful periods in its history, announced on Monday that he will step down as chief executive after nearly 15 years in the top role. The change marks the end of a major chapter for Apple. Under Cook’s leadership, the company grew from already being a tech giant into one of the most powerful and valuable businesses in the world.
Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO
Cook, 65, will move into a new position as Apple’s executive chairman in September. Taking over as CEO will be John Ternus, 50, who currently leads the company’s hardware engineering division.
When Cook became CEO in 2011, he took over from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs shortly before Jobs passed away. At the time, many wondered whether anyone could fill Jobs’s shoes. Peter Oppenheimer, who served as Apple’s chief financial officer from 2004 to 2014, said Cook handled the challenge impressively.
However, despite Apple’s success, the company has also faced growing pressure in recent years. It has not launched a major mainstream new product in some time. Its Vision Pro headset, released in 2024 as an augmented reality device, failed to meet expectations.
Apple has also faced slower growth in wearables like the Apple Watch and AirPods, along with uneven sales in China. According to the NYT, the company has also been criticised for moving slowly in artificial intelligence while rivals across the tech industry poured hundreds of billions into AI development. Several senior executives have left Apple in recent months, raising concerns among investors about the company’s future leadership bench and long-term plans.
Cook also had to deal with difficult politics during his tenure. Apple has been caught between the United States and China, especially during trade disputes and rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Apple said that in his new role as executive chairman, Cook “will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world.”
Meet Apple’s New CEO, John Ternus
John Ternus joined Apple in 2001, four years after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. He first worked on Mac displays and later rose through the company, taking on bigger responsibilities involving Macs and iPads.
In 2021, he succeeded longtime executive Dan Riccio as head of hardware engineering. Now, Ternus will become Apple’s eighth chief executive since the company was founded 50 years ago, and only the third CEO since Steve Jobs returned in 1997 to rescue Apple.
“Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor. It has been a privilege to help shape the products and experiences that have changed so much of how we interact with the world and with one another,” Ternus said in a statement.
Tim Cook’s full statement in a memo to employees at Apple
As reported by Bloomberg, Cook wrote in a memo to Apple employees, “Fifteen years ago, my friend and mentor Steve Jobs asked me to step into the role of CEO. It was an emotional and challenging moment for all of us at Apple, and I hoped I’d be up for the awesome responsibility I was taking on.”
I knew then what I know now: that there are certain values embedded in Apple that are bigger than any of us; a belief in the simple, not the complex; a determination to innovate with a focus on those few things that are truly important to the world and meaningful to us; an impatience for anything less than excellence in every group in the company; a commitment to enriching the lives of those we have a privilege to touch with our work; and a resolve to do all that we can to leave the world better than we found it. Those were the values that made Apple what it was then, and I am proud to say that they are the ideals that animate each of us today.
Today, we have a truly extraordinary road map, and I have never been more optimistic about Apple’s future. That is why I have decided that now is the right time for me to transition to a new role of executive chairman. And I am thrilled to announce that John Ternus will be our new CEO.
Throughout the many years I’ve worked with him, and our many conversations about his becoming Apple’s next CEO, John’s passion and love for Apple shine through. He is a visionary in his own right, a man of remarkable integrity, and the kind of person we can all be proud to follow. John is the right leader to help us innovate into the future, to help us break new ground on big ideas and bold new pathways, and to ensure that the values that have made us so successful and so admired for the past 50 years will remain the core of our identity and our culture in the decades to come.
I want to offer my profound gratitude to the best executive team on the planet for your friendship and your brilliance over the years. And I want all of you, every member of the Apple team, to know how much it has meant to me to work with you. You are the most remarkable people in the world, and it’s because of you that Apple is such a special place. What we built, we built together, and you are why I am incredibly optimistic about the future. I know you will join me in congratulating John as we write this next chapter of Apple’s story.
We’ll be hosting a town hall tomorrow in the Steve Jobs Theater at 9 a.m. to talk about this and more. I’m looking forward to it.
With gratitude,
Tim”.
Tim Cook says It’s a transition, not goodbye
Cook also addressed the move in a letter posted on Apple’s website. “This is not goodbye,” he said. But he added that it is a “moment of transition.”
“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world,” said Cook.
He added, “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour. He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future. I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character, and I look forward to working closely with him on this transition and in my new role as executive chairman.”