Apple’s new CEO John Ternus praises Tim Cook in first staff letter ahead of Sept. 9 launch

John Ternus began his tenure as Apple’s chief executive by thanking the man he replaced. In his first public internal letter to employees, Ternus praised Tim Cook’s contribution to Apple and his guidance during the transition.

Ternus described Cook as a CEO who led with values, integrity and humanity. He said Apple was fortunate that Cook would continue as executive chairman of the board.

The new chief executive also told employees that Apple would hold a “very exciting” major product presentation the following week. He thanked them for completing the preparations and said the anticipation extended beyond the products about to be unveiled. He also pointed to products still in development, along with ideas the team had not yet imagined.

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very exciting

Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and previously served as senior vice president of hardware engineering, overseeing hardware development for the iPhone, iPad and Mac. His background differs from Cook’s stronger emphasis on operations. As the succession took effect, Johny Srouji assumed leadership of the hardware engineering team, while Apple also reorganized its product design group.

Cook had said before stepping down that handing Apple to Ternus made him feel “very reassured,” while strongly endorsing Ternus’s product-development and leadership abilities. Ternus has appeared on Apple’s launch stages several times, but the Sept. 9 “Surprise and Shine” iPhone event will be his first major presentation as CEO. It is expected to offer an early view of the direction Apple takes under his leadership.

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very reassured