Tim Cook leaves Apple after 15 years and hands the reins to John Ternus

Tim Cook will leave Apple’s chief executive office after 15 years, but he will not fully leave the company. On Sept. 1, John Ternus will assume operational control while Cook remains executive chairman of the board.

Cook became Apple’s CEO in August 2011, after joining the company in 1998 as vice president of Global Operations. He also served as interim chief executive between 2010 and 2011, while Steve Jobs received medical treatment. Jobs died of pancreatic cancer only weeks after the board appointed Cook permanently.

During Cook’s tenure, Apple expanded beyond its traditional hardware business. The company introduced the Apple Watch, AirPods, AirTags and Apple Vision Pro, while services including iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple TV and Apple Music became a larger part of its business. The iPhone remained Apple’s flagship product.

The company also placed greater emphasis on environmental responsibility and cybersecurity under Cook. The article links his tenure to major financial growth, saying Apple doubled its revenue and profits over nine years and that its market value rose from 358 billion euros to $2.5 trillion in 2023. Across his 15 years as CEO, the company’s market value increased more than 20 times.

The leadership change comes days before Apple’s next special event, where the company traditionally presents some of its new products. Ternus’s background in hardware development closely connects him to one of Apple’s core businesses as the company begins its next phase.