# John Ternus > Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering (CEO-designate, effective September 1, 2026) at apple - Profile type: Person - Profile status: baseline - Last updated: 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z - Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/john-ternus/ - Also known as: John T. Ternus, Ternus, John Ternus Apple CEO ## Summary John Ternus is Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering and CEO-designate, set to succeed Tim Cook as chief executive on September 1, 2026. A 25-year Apple veteran who joined the company in 2001, Ternus leads hardware engineering across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro — the full portfolio that underpins Apple TV+ and tvOS. ## Profile facts - Current title: Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering (CEO-designate, effective September 1, 2026) - Current company: apple (https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/apple/) ## Career trajectory - 2001-01-01 — Product Design Engineer at apple. Joined Apple's product design team; early work included the Apple Cinema Display. - 2013-01-01 — Vice President, Hardware Engineering at apple. Promoted under Dan Riccio; oversaw AirPods, Mac, and iPad product lines. - 2020-01-01 — Vice President, Hardware Engineering (iPhone added) at apple. Took on responsibility for iPhone hardware engineering. - 2021-01-25 — Senior Vice President, Hardware Engineering at apple. Promoted to the executive team, succeeding Dan Riccio, who shifted to AR/VR development. - 2026-04-20 — Chief Executive Officer-designate at apple. Named by Apple's Board of Directors to succeed Tim Cook as CEO effective September 1, 2026; Cook becomes Executive Chairman. _This page uses only public-professional information (roles, public statements, media appearances)._ ## Key facts - Apple announced on April 20, 2026 that John Ternus will succeed Tim Cook as chief executive officer effective September 1, 2026; Cook will become Executive Chairman of the board. — Apple Newsroom: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/04/tim-cook-to-become-apple-executive-chairman-john-ternus-to-become-apple-ceo/ - Ternus is Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Apple, reporting to CEO Tim Cook and leading hardware engineering for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro. — Apple Leadership: https://www.apple.com/leadership/john-ternus/ - Ternus joined Apple in 2001 as a member of the product design team and was promoted to Vice President of Hardware Engineering in 2013 under Dan Riccio. — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ternus - Ternus was elevated to Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering and added to Apple's executive team in early 2021, succeeding Dan Riccio in the role. — 9to5Mac: https://9to5mac.com/2021/04/02/apple-leadership-webpage-updated-with-john-ternus-as-svp-hardware-engineering/ - Ternus is 51 years old at the time of his CEO appointment and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania (1997). — Fortune: https://fortune.com/article/who-is-john-ternus-new-apple-ceo-tim-cook-retirement/ ## Related - apple (Employer; CEO-designate effective Sep 1, 2026) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/apple/ - tim cook (Outgoing CEO and incoming Executive Chairman of Apple) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/tim-cook/ ## External coverage - 2026-04-20 — Apple Newsroom: Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman; John Ternus to become Apple CEO (https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/04/tim-cook-to-become-apple-executive-chairman-john-ternus-to-become-apple-ceo/) - Apple: John Ternus — Senior Vice President, Hardware Engineering (https://www.apple.com/leadership/john-ternus/) - 2026-04-20 — CNBC: Apple taps John Ternus as CEO to replace Tim Cook, who will become chairman (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/20/apple-names-john-ternus-ceo-replacing-tim-cook-who-becomes-chairman.html) - 2026-04-20 — TechCrunch: Who is John Ternus, the incoming Apple CEO? (https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/20/who-is-john-ternus-the-incoming-apple-ceo/) - Bloomberg: Apple's John Ternus Profile: The Likely Successor to Tim Cook as CEO (https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-apple-next-ceo/) - 2026-04-26 — Fortune: Apple's new CEO John Ternus inherits a rebounding China business — and some messy headaches (https://fortune.com/2026/04/26/john-ternus-tim-cook-apple-china-iphone-ai/) - 2026-04-30 — CNN Business: Apple's new CEO will inherit strong sales and even greater expectations (https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/30/tech/apple-earnings-john-ternus-new-ceo) ## Profile Ternus is a hardware-engineering operator stepping into the CEO seat at the largest CTV-platform owner outside of Amazon and Google. For our coverage, the relevance runs through Apple TV+ (SVOD), tvOS / Apple TV 4K (device platform), and Apple Vision Pro — all sit inside the engineering org Ternus has run since 2021. The succession announcement was unanimous from Apple's board; Cook stays on as Executive Chairman with a policy-engagement remit, and Arthur Levinson — non-executive chairman for 15 years — moves to lead independent director on September 1, 2026. What to watch from a streaming and ad-tech vantage: whether the hardware-engineer-as-CEO posture changes Apple's services and advertising appetite, how Vision Pro's roadmap evolves under its former product lead, and whether any tvOS or Apple TV+ leadership reshuffle accompanies the broader transition. ## Tags - executive - ceo-designate - hardware-engineering - apple - leadership-transition - apple-tv-plus - tvos --- View this profile in a browser: https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/john-ternus/ Browse the directory: https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/ Machine-readable index: https://thestateofstreaming.com/llms.txt