Tim Cook, the 65-year-old chief executive who led Apple through a decade and a half of extraordinary growth, is stepping down from the role he inherited from Steve Jobs. On 1 September, he will hand over day-to-day leadership to John Ternus, Apple's head of hardware engineering, while staying on as executive chairman. The move mirrors transitions at Amazon and Netflix, where founders Jeff Bezos and Reed Hastings moved to chairman roles after their CEO tenures.
Arthur Levinson, Apple's non-executive chairman, will step aside to allow Cook to assume that position, though he will remain on the board.
"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company," Cook said in a statement. "I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people."
Ternus, 50, has spent 25 years at Apple, the last five overseeing engineering for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. His deep involvement in the company's core products made him the natural successor. "I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple's mission forward," Ternus said.
The leadership change comes at a critical juncture. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the tech landscape more dramatically than anything since the iPhone's debut in 2007. Apple has stumbled in its AI rollout, missing deadlines for new features promised nearly two years ago. Earlier this year, it turned to Google—an early AI leader—to help make Siri more conversational and versatile.
"Cook created a major legacy at Apple but it was ultimately time to pass the torch to Ternus with the AI strategy now the focus," said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.
From near bankruptcy to a trillion-euro empire
Cook took over in August 2011, shortly before Jobs died after a long battle with cancer. At the time, Apple was valued at about €322 billion. Under Cook, it became the first publicly traded company to reach €920 billion, then €1.84 trillion, and finally €2.76 trillion. Today, Apple is worth approximately €3.68 trillion—though chipmaker Nvidia, riding the AI boom, has since surpassed it, becoming the first company to hit €4.6 trillion.
"Steve Jobs was never going to be an easy act to follow, yet Tim Cook took Jobs' legacy and transformed Apple into a durable, resilient financial powerhouse," said Forrester Research analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee.
Cook's tenure was defined by operational mastery rather than product vision. An Alabama native who worked at Compaq and IBM, he built a global supply chain that leveraged Chinese manufacturing to produce Macs, iPods, iPhones, and iPads. Apple's annual revenue grew from €99 billion to €383 billion. Yet most of its best-selling devices were conceived under Jobs, raising questions about whether Cook was more a logistics expert than an innovator.
"While Cook has kept Apple's growth trajectory moving at a steady clip, he has not overseen a step-change innovation that would reset Apple's competitive position for the next two decades, as Jobs did with the iPhone," Chatterjee noted.
The company did launch the Apple Watch, AirPods, and the niche Vision Pro headset, but none matched the breakthrough impact of the iPhone. A long-rumoured self-driving car project was abandoned after years of investment.
Cook also navigated geopolitical minefields, particularly during Donald Trump's trade wars with China. He secured tariff exemptions for iPhones and shifted some production to India. More recently, Trump imposed tariffs on the device but Cook minimised the impact by promising €552 billion in US investment.
Beyond business, Cook made a personal mark in 2014 when he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality—a move widely hailed as a milestone for LGBTQ+ rights.
Jobs had groomed Cook as his successor, advising him to trust his own instincts rather than ask "What would Steve do?" That advice guided Cook through a tenure that, while lacking a new defining product, turned Apple into the world's most durable corporate powerhouse.
The transition will be discussed further on 30 April, when Apple releases its first-quarter financial results. For European consumers and regulators, the shift comes as Apple faces scrutiny over its App Store policies under the EU's Digital Markets Act and competition from Chinese rivals. Ternus will need to balance innovation with the geopolitical and regulatory realities that Cook managed so deftly.
