Who is John Ternus? Apple’s hardware chief tipped as a future CEO contender

Though the whispers have been lingering for months, one of the world’s biggest tech companies is reportedly intensifying its CEO succession plans. The biggest name that has been doing the rounds on the internet is John Ternus, Apple’s hardware chief, who is the leading name to succeed Tim Cook this year. This is touted to be Apple’s most significant leadership transition in over a decade.

A report in the Financial Times recently said that the iPhone-maker was stepping up its succession planning as Tim Cook, the incumbent CEO, prepares to step down. The report, citing several people privy to the discussions, suggests that Ternus is the frontrunner for the top job. Reportedly, the company’s board and senior executives recently accelerated the preparation for Cook to hand over the reins. Cook, who joined Apple in 1998, was made the CEO in August 2011 after co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs stepped down due to his battle with pancreatic cancer.

As of now, the 50-year-old Ternus seems to be at the centre of the succession planning. The speculation around Ternus intensified after Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, who was once considered to be Cook’s successor, stepped down in July 2025. Following Williams’ exit, Bloomberg News’s Mark Gurman, known for his deep insights from the Apple ecosystem, said that Ternus is the most likely candidate for the role.

Based on his LinkedIn profile, Ternus joined Apple’s design team in 2001. A mechanical engineer, Ternus has overseen hardware engineering for almost all the key products for Apple. Reportedly, he has been instrumental in every generation of iPad, the recent iPhones, and AirPods. Ternus also played a key role in Mac’s adoption of Apple Silicon. He was one of the prominent faces during Apple’s recent keynotes

Ternus graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 with a degree in engineering with a major in mechanical engineering. He was both a distinguished student and an athlete. Ternus not only excelled in academics, but he was also a competitive swimmer. A report from the Daily Pennsylvanian in 1994 revealed that he won the 50-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley at a university-level championship.

Following his graduation, Ternus joined a company named Virtual Research Systems, which was a part of the early virtual reality wave in the early 1990s. He was working on VR headsets and immersive technologies, and four years of his experience here later proved beneficial for his work on products like Apple Vision Pro. He joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and began working on external Mac monitors. His entry into Apple coincided with the return of Steve Jobs, the revival of iMac, and most importantly, Apple was at the cusp of introducing technologies that could impact industries.

Years later, in 2013, Ternus was promoted to the vice president of hardware engineering, where he oversaw the development of Mac, iPad, and AirPods. Subsequently, in 2020, he took over iPhone hardware engineering, which was earlier overseen by Dan Ricco, who had stepped down to play a key role in the Vision Pro project. Ternus was elevated to Apple’s executive team by being promoted to the senior vice president of hardware engineering.

Gurman noted that Apple’s team has gradually begun putting the spotlight on Ternus by increasing his visibility, likely prepping for his eventual transition. Reportedly, Terum has overseen responsibilities much beyond the orbit of hardware engineering, impacting product roadmaps and strategic decisions.

Cook has been Apple’s CEO since 2011, after he took over the reins from Steve Jobs. He has been known for steering the company into one of the most financially successful eras in corporate history. His leadership saw Apple’s market value gallop to trillions, with revenue and profit roughly doubling in the years following his appointment as CEO. Reportedly, Cook is noted for his operational might and expertise in supply-chain dynamics, a skill that he developed when he oversaw Apple’s global operations.

He has also been crucial to the expansion of Apple’s services, such as launching products like the Apple Watch and Apple Pay. Cook made sustainability and privacy core strategic pillars. Under his leadership, Apple has been shaped as a significant voice on social issues, navigating complex geopolitical pressures.

With succession discussions intensifying, the new CEO will have a monumental task ahead. The new appointee will have to sustain innovation and deepen Apple’s competitiveness in artificial intelligence, an area where the company has fallen short. They will have to manage the talent churn, retain top engineers at the same time, and preserve Apple’s product culture. They will also need to strike a balance between global supply chains and volatile geopolitics.

Internal candidates like Ternus are believed to combine technical credibility and operational stability. Even though speculation around John Ternus as Apple’s next CEO has intensified recently, it remains just that – speculation. Apple has made no official announcement or confirmation about Tim Cook’s successor at this stage, and any leadership transition timeline is still unclear.