Tim Cook resigns

Samuel Buchmann

21/4/2026

Translation: machine translated

After 15 years as CEO, Tim Cook will hand over the reins of Apple to John Ternus on 1 September 2026. He was previously Head of Hardware. His position will be filled by Johny Srouji.

Apple is making the biggest management change since the death of Steve Jobs: CEO Tim Cook will step down on 1 September 2026 at the age of 65. He is handing over to 50-year-old John Ternus, previously Senior Vice President Hardware Engineering. Cook has led the company since 2011 and is now moving to the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors, where he will continue to liaise with politicians and regulatory authorities.

«It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be CEO of Apple and to be entrusted with the leadership of such an extraordinary company», writes Tim Cook in Apple's press release. He attests to his successor «the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator and the heart to lead with integrity and honour.» John Ternus writes: «I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to continue Apple's mission.»

Engineer succeeds manager

Cook has worked at Apple for over 25 years. He shaped the company less as a product visionary than as a manager of supply chains and new business models. Under his leadership, Apple's market capitalisation rose from 350 billion to 4 trillion US dollars. He expanded the service business with suppliers such as iCloud, Apple Music and Apple TV to a division with an annual turnover of more than 100 billion dollars. He also created new product categories such as Apple Watch, AirPods and, most recently, the mixed reality headset Vision Pro.

The designated new CEO John Ternus has worked at Apple since 2001. He has a background in product design, was promoted to Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2013 and has been at the top of the company since 2021. Ternus has been involved in numerous generations of iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, as well as Apple's switch to its in-house M-Chips in 2020. More recently, he was jointly responsible for the iPhone Air and the MacBook Neo.

With Ternus, someone who is deeply rooted in the hardware business is moving to the top - at a time when Apple is under pressure as a result of its hesitant AI strategy. Competitors such as Microsoft and Google are investing heavily in cloud AI, while Apple is focussing primarily on integrating AI functions directly into its devices and has entered into a partnership with Google. The ever-increasing use of smartphones is also a challenge for the company, as the iPhone still accounts for a large proportion of sales.

Johny Srouji becomes new head of hardware

Johny Srouji is to become the new Head of Hardware Development. He will also be given the title of Chief Hardware Officer. Srouji is regarded as the architect of Apple's silicon strategy: under his leadership, Apple developed its own processors such as the A4 for the iPhone and the M chips for the Mac and set up large development centres in Israel. Srouji is now responsible for chips, batteries, cameras, sensors, displays and modems across the entire product portfolio.

The change at the top comes as no surprise. Over the past few months, rumours about Tim Cook's resignation, which had probably been planned for a long time, have intensified. The timing of the replacement, directly after Apple's 50th anniversary, is symbolically clever. Marketing genius Steve Jobs and supply chain specialist Tim Cook are now followed by an engineer as CEO. It will be interesting to see whether Apple will produce more radical innovations again under him.

Samuel Buchmann

Senior Editor

Samuel.Buchmann@digitecgalaxus.ch

My fingerprint often changes so drastically that my MacBook doesn't recognise it anymore. The reason? If I'm not clinging to a monitor or camera, I'm probably clinging to a rockface by the tips of my fingers.

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