New Apple CEO John Ternus doubted himself when he started: 'I wasn't sure I belonged'

Apple is adding a new CEO to its ranks and continuing a long-running tradition of internal promotion.

The iPhone maker on Monday announced that CEO Tim Cook will step down as chief executive in September and named senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus as his successor. Cook will serve as executive chairman.

He has the "mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor," Cook wrote in a press release announcing Ternus as CEO.

Industry experts have long speculated that the 50-year-old Ternus would become Cook's eventual successor. Over the last 25 years at Apple, Ternus has become a key architect of the tech giant's robust product pipeline, managing hardware engineering for iPad, AirPods, and recent iPhone models.

When Ternus takes the reins this September, he'll become the company's eighth CEO. He also faces a significant obstacle: revamping the company's struggling artificial intelligence strategy.

Apple is facing pressure to innovate on an AI strategy long viewed as lagging megacap peers. Recently, the company has hit development snags with its AI-charged Siri model and enlisted the help of Google's Gemini in January.

Wall Street analysts view the CEO promotion as a potential catalyst for reigniting optimism in Apple and its AI strategy.

Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that "promoting him to CEO clearly shows Apple's emphasis on product at the center of the flywheel will remain."

The road to CEO

Ternus graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 with a degree in mechanical engineering. As a student, he juggled studies with a competitive varsity swimming career.

After graduation, he worked as an engineer at Virtual Research, an early firm working on virtual reality headsets. He joined Apple in 2001 as an engineer on the design team.

During a commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania's engineering school in 2024, Ternus described his first day at the tech company as "exhilarating and intimidating."

"I wasn't sure I belonged there," he recalled. "The people I met were so smart and so confident, and they knew so much more than me, but I'll always be grateful that I wasn't afraid to ask for help when I needed it."

His first project at the burgeoning tech company was on a plastic desktop monitor known as the cinema display. He described the buildout as a detail-intensive process that included "large, complicated clear plastic parts." Apple later pivoted to aluminum.

"Every experience like this sharpened my ability to approach problems from different angles," he told students in 2024. "They give me the confidence and willingness to try new things and the resolve to keep going until I find a solution."

By 2013, Ternus became vice president of hardware engineering, leading development for key product lines, including the Mac and iPad. He took charge of Apple's iPhone and became senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021, when then-hardware chief Dan Riccio pivoted to the Apple Vision Pro.

Over the past five years, Ternus has overseen design and product performance for many new Apple products, including the iPad and AirPods. He has also played a significant role in Apple's Silicon chip program as it transitions away from Intel.

For Apple fans, Ternus is also a familiar face at launch events broadcast from the company's Cupertino, California, headquarters. Last year, he unveiled the company's new iPhone Air.

In a statement announcing his appointment, Ternus said he's been "lucky" to have worked under Apple founder Steve Jobs and to have Cook as his mentor.

"I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come, and I am so happy to know that the most talented people on earth are here at Apple, determined to be part of something bigger than any one of us," he said.