Apple's next CEO: speculation about Tim Cook's successor
Apple is facing major changes in the boardroom in the coming years. Tim Cook may be staying on longer, but the search for a successor is becoming more real.
John Ternus at the iPhone 17 keynote.
(Image: Apple)
Apple CEO Tim Cook is about to turn 65. On 1 November, he will reach the age at which people normally retire in many countries. At present, no serious observer expects the CEO, who has been in office since 2011, to retire soon, but the entire Apple management team is getting older. Prominent departures such as COO Jeff Williams, who was once even considered a possible successor to Cook, are causing speculation. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, who is well-connected in Apple circles, fueled the debate about a possible Cook successor in his newsletter at the weekend: he focused on hardware boss John Ternus, whose name has been circulating for some time.
Restructuring on the executive floor
Gurman once again describes how Cook has managed to keep important managers such as former marketing boss Phil Schiller and former CFO Luca Maestri in the company. However, Cook did not succeed with Williams, who will actually retire at the end of the year. It remains unclear what will happen to AI boss John Giannandrea, who has repeatedly been at the center of criticism (for example regarding Siri).
Instead of Mike Rockwell, who is considered the central figure behind Vision Pro and is currently responsible for revamping Apple's voice assistant, someone from outside could come in to save Apple's AI false start, according to Gurman. A senior manager from Meta's AI department is reportedly being eyed. Chip boss Johny Srouji is also facing a possible end to his career, writes Gurman. However, he has not yet decided. However, there are internal successors. Lisa Jackson, Head of Environment, who has been with Apple since 2013, is also said to have discussed the topic of retirement – is also approaching the age limit.
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Another engineer as boss?
According to Gurman, Cook is missing a real number two following the departure of Williams. This is unlikely to be Ternus for now, as he has enough to do in the hardware sector – However, according to Gurman, he remains the most important candidate for the CEO role. This includes his age, which is now 50 – so he would still have plenty of time for the company. As a technologist, Ternus is also exactly the person Apple needs right now to make the company fit for the future – Production and sales are still running like clockwork.
Ternus is also very popular both internally and externally. According to Gurman, Cook trusts him and he is charismatic. Most recently, Apple also gave Ternus an important role at the iPhone 17 keynote. And even if the engineer, who has worked at Apple since 2001, becomes CEO, Cook will certainly remain at Apple, for example as head of the Board of Directors. The question now is when Apple expects the change to take place.
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