Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO next year

According to the Financial TimesTim Cook could step down as Apple CEO as early as next year. And the board began seriously developing a succession plan. FT says John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, is considered the frontrunner for the job.

Cook’s resignation rumors follow the retirement of Apple COO Jeff Williams, whose last day at the company was Friday. As part of the departure, there has been some reshuffling of responsibilities at the management level, including expanded roles for head of services Eddy Cue, head of software engineering Craig Federighi and Ternus.

Whoever ends up taking over as CEO, it’s unlikely to be someone outside of Apple. Tim Cook has previously said there is a strong preference for an internal candidate and that the company has “very detailed succession plans”.