Tim Cook to Step Down After 15 Years as Apple CEO
After nearly 15 years as CEO of Apple, Tim Cook is stepping down. He will continue in this role until September 1, when he will be replaced by John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.
Cook will not disappear from Apple. He will transition to Apple’s board of directors as executive chairman, the company announced Monday. But this change represents the end of an era for the company.
Cook became CEO on August 24, 2011, succeeding Apple co-founder and face of the company, Steve Jobs, who died two months later. Known for improving the company’s supply chain, Cook oversaw a period of record growth. During his 15-year tenure, the company refined its smartphone lineup starting with the iPhone 5, launched new products like the Apple Watch and HomePod, and launched services like Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, and Apple Fitness Plus.
With Cook at the helm, Apple became a billion-dollar company in 2018 – the first American company to do so – and surpassed $3 trillion in market capitalization in 2022.
“I love Apple with all my being and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such resourceful, innovative, creative and deeply caring people who have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the world’s best products and services,” Cook said.
Ternus, who will replace Cook in September, has spent almost his entire career at Apple. An engineer by training, he joined the company in 2001, becoming vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 and senior vice president in 2021. He was “instrumental in the introduction” of the iPad and AirPods, according to Apple’s post, and oversaw the company’s product lines up to the recent MacBook Neo.
This is a developing story. Come back to CNET for more updates.
