Who is John Ternus, Tim Cook’s Most Likely Successor and Next Apple CEO

May. 10, 2024

Now, you must be curious to know who is John Ternus, why is he being favored, and who all are the other possible candidates at Apple. Unarguably, it isn’t easy to take over the responsibilities of one of the most influential companies in the world. Let’s move along and learn about the man who could step in as the next Apple CEO.

Who is John Ternus?

According toApple’s official website,John Ternus is theSenior Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Appleand reports directly to Tim Cook. He leads all the hardware engineering efforts, including the teams behind iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Mac, and other products.

Before joining Apple, John was a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. Talking about academics, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Many people assumed Jeff Williams would be Tim Cook’s successor. However, he was dismissed as the next CEO due to his age, he’s 61 years old. If we were discussing this five years ago, Jeff would surely be leading the pack. For those unaware,Jeff Williams is Apple’s Chief Operations Officer and oversees Apple’s entire worldwide operations. He also leads Apple’s design team and all sorts of engineering efforts for Apple Watch. Bloomberg’s report says that any immediate change could see Williams take the reigns. Apple’s board of directors would favor an executive who’s ready to take the leadership for at least a decade, just like Steve Jobs and Tim Cook’s tenures.

According to the reports, theother potential candidates include Craig Federighi (Senior Vice President of Software Engineering), Dan Riccio (Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering), Deirdre O’Brien (Senior Vice President of Retail), and Phil Schiller (Apple Fellow). However, they are less likely to be a choice for such a top position.

John Ternus holds an impressive track record. He’s not even 50 years old, and he has quickly made his way through the ranks to become an important face of Apple. Besides work, John is known for his collaborative approach, decision-making abilities, and motivating the culture of innovation within the team.

John earned several supporters as well. He’s known for being a very reticent decision-maker and holds expertise in diverse domains. Besides,John has a lot of managerial and leadership qualities like Tim Cook. Throughout his tenure, John has earned the respect and trust of Apple’s top leaders, including Tim Cook and Jeff Williams.

Despite several acknowledgments, John isn’t without any critics. Some people within Apple have doubts that he is ready for the CEO role. After all, John currently holds a relatively junior position compared to other executives. Some also question his limited involvement in high-profile and demanding projects like thenow-cancelled Apple Car initiativeand theApple Vision Pro.

Well, these doubts are still dominated by the trust John Ternus has gained at Apple. According to a report, Tim Cook’s closest executive, Eddy Cue, also hinted at John filling the CEO spot next.

While John Ternus seems to frontrunner for Apple’s next CEO position, the road still remains uncertain. Tim Cook himself gave a hint about staying for at least another three years. John Ternus stands a great chance here to prove himself and address any doubts about his readiness to run a company with a rich legacy of innovation.

It would be damn interesting to see who’s gonna shape Apple’s next chapter. While John Ternus seems to be the name, we’ll have to wait until Apple’s board of directors arrives at a decision. Also, who knows Tim Cook himself might make an official announcement or throw some hints, at least.