New Apple CEO John Ternus Was 'Relatively Unknown' Outside Hardware [Report]

Apple CEO John Ternus is known inside the company as a highly competent but understated hardware engineer, according to a new Financial Times profile that offers fresh details about his career, personal life and reputation as he takes over from Tim Cook.



Wendell Weeks, chief executive of longtime Apple glass supplier Corning, began working with Ternus during development of the iPad nearly two decades ago. "It was very obvious from the earliest days that John was super-talented," Weeks said, describing him as a humble "good guy." He also pointed to Ternus' hobby of racing cars as revealing another side of his character, saying success requires passion while remaining "wicked calm and really dedicated to excellence."


That low-key reputation contrasts with the scale of the job Ternus has inherited. Apple is now a $4.7 trillion company with a supply chain at the center of geopolitical tension. Its share price is up 18 percent this year, which the FT attributes in part to the company's decision to sit out the costly race to build AI infrastructure, even as product sales growth has slowed and investors look for new devices. "Apple today is just a different beast," said Wamsi Mohan, senior analyst at Bank of America. "To really grasp everything… it's a really hard job."

The handover was years in the making. Tim Cook, who announced in April that he was stepping down as CEO, had been considering how to execute the succession since the early days of his tenure, according to people familiar with his thinking. He viewed choosing and preparing his successor as one of his most important responsibilities, particularly after his own difficult and drawn-out experience taking over during Steve Jobs' illness.

Cook remains at Apple as executive chair. During the official four-month transition, Ternus quietly accompanied him to several public appearances, including Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting and the Ted Lasso premiere in July. "It's probably important for Ternus to have Cook around for some period of time," Mohan said. "That's what kept people happy." A former Apple executive said the succession "was all handled very gracefully with Tim Cook giving the market and the company plenty of warning," though the April announcement still surprised investors after Apple had done relatively little to raise Ternus' public profile.

Unlike Cook, whose background before becoming CEO centered on operations, Ternus has spent most of his career developing Apple hardware. He joined Apple's Product Design team in 2001 after studying mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and working at virtual reality company Virtual Research Systems. Over the next 25 years, his work ranged from Apple's move from plastic computers to aluminum designs to the development of AirPods and the Mac's transition to Apple silicon.


Dan Riccio, Apple's longtime hardware engineering chief, became an important early mentor. Ternus eventually succeeded him as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2021. He is also part of the generation of executives mentored by Steve Jobs and still invokes Jobs-era ideas, describing the Mac as "the bicycle for the mind." Despite his long tenure and senior role, a former Apple executive described Ternus as "relatively unknown outside the hardware organisation."

Ternus has already begun building a more public presence since taking over. His X account, which was created in June, published its first post on September 1 with a one-word "hello," marking his first public statement as CEO. By Friday, he had gained almost 1 million followers.

Much less is known about Ternus outside Apple. Born and raised in California, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997, the same year as Elon Musk. He is married and has children, while former school classmates remember him as a great swimmer. Recalling his first day at Apple in a 2024 commencement speech, Ternus said he initially questioned whether he belonged at the company. "To be honest, I wasn't sure I belonged there," he said.

Reports have also said Ternus was skeptical of Apple's expensive Vision Pro headset. His first message to employees as CEO, meanwhile, looked toward Apple's future rather than any particular existing product category. Ternus said he was excited about products "we haven't even imagined yet that we'll dream up and create together." The memo also promised a "huge launch next week".

Apple marked his first day in the job with a party at Apple Park that included DJing from Apple Music creative director Zane Lowe. One employee told the FT they were already so acclimatized to the change in CEO that they did not feel the need to attend.

Ternus' first major appearance as CEO comes Wednesday, September 9, when he is set to lead Apple's annual iPhone launch event. He is expected to unveil the company's first foldable iPhone, putting the longtime hardware executive at the center of Apple's biggest product event just over a week after taking the top job.