Apple Inc is reportedly stepping up its succession planning, as the tech giant prepares for its CEO Tim Cook to step down over the coming years—perhaps even in early 2026.
This follows a slow, generational shift at the trillion-dollar company that started with the departure of COO Jeff Williams, Cook's right-hand man, in July, and CFO Luca Maestri, another of Cook's top aides.
Williams' absence would create a gap in Apple's top brass in the event of Cook's exit, as a result of which a Financial Times report suggests the new CEO could be John Ternus, the tech giant's senior vice-president of hardware engineering.
However, nothing is final yet, and the company is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January (which covers the critical holiday period), the report said, citing several people in the know.
Although announcing the 65-year-old's replacement in early 2026 would help the tech giant organise itself properly before its major events in 2026—its developer conference in June and its iPhone launch in September—the timing remains uncertain, despite the preparations.
Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman also highlights Ternus' name as the most possible replacement for Cook, especially in the absence of Williams.
Gurman also points out that Ternus' background in product engineering could help the company harness new technology better, as well as the fact that the 50-year-old is well-regarded by Cook (and other Apple loyalists).
Joining Apple in 2001 as part of the product design team, he quietly climbed the success ladder over the next two decades, gradually taking on responsibility for the entire iPad line and then the Mac, AirPods and then in 2020, the iPhone.
In 2021, he was promoted to Senior Vice President, the topmost position in the hardware engineering division.
Cook has earlier voiced his preference for an internal candidate to be chosen as his replacement, saying that the succession plans were “very detailed".
“I love it there and I can’t envision my life without being there so I’ll be there a while,” he told singer Dua Lipa in a 2023 episode of her podcast.
