Who Is John Ternus? What Changes At Apple And What Stays The Same

John Ternus built the chip that freed Apple from Intel. He helped launch AirPods, Apple Watch and Vision Pro. Now he has to fix Siri and catch up with the AI race.

John Ternus is a company veteran who joined Apple in 2001, making him a familiar face within the organisation. 

Source : Apple

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• John Ternus becomes Apple CEO September 1, succeeding Tim Cook.
• Ternus led Apple's silicon chip development and hardware innovation.
• He inherits a strong company, facing AI competition challenges.

Apple's New CEO John Ternus: Apple has named John Ternus as its next chief executive officer, with his term beginning on 1 September. He succeeds Tim Cook, who will move to the role of executive chair of Apple's board of directors. Ternus is a company veteran who joined Apple in 2001, making him a familiar face within the organisation. 

His appointment signals continuity for a company that has delivered record profits under Cook's leadership, with annual profits now exceeding $100 billion.

Who Is John Ternus And What Has He Done At Apple?

Ternus grew up in California and earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also competed on the varsity swim team. After graduating in 1997, he briefly worked at Virtual Research Systems, a virtual reality startup, before joining Apple in 2001.

At Apple, he rose through the ranks steadily. He became vice-president of hardware engineering in 2013 and took over as head of the department in 2021. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, one of his standout contributions was leading the development of Apple's proprietary silicon chips for its Mac computers, a shift away from Intel chips in 2020 that helped drive a surge in Mac sales. Products including the Apple Watch, the AirPods range, and the Vision Pro headset all came to market under his leadership of the hardware division.

Expressing his thoughts on the appointment, Ternus said, "I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple's mission forward. 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."

What Challenges Does Ternus Face As Apple's New CEO?

Cook, who joined Apple in 1998 and took over as CEO in 2011 following Steve Jobs' death, described his successor as having "the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour." The Wall Street Journal described Ternus as "an affable mechanical engineer" whose management style is closer to the measured Cook than to the more volatile Jobs.

Cook will remain in his current role through the summer to assist with the transition. Johny Srouji, who previously served as Apple's senior vice-president of hardware, is set to step into Ternus's former role.

While the incoming CEO inherits a financially strong company, he also takes on the challenge of closing the gap with Apple's peers on artificial intelligence. Apple has been seen as trailing competitors in this space, even as it continues to lead in consumer hardware. 

Ternus will oversee a promised overhaul of the Siri virtual assistant and will need to address the absence of a standout consumer AI product.

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