Apple's CEO question: Will John Ternus succeed Tim Cook?
Apple's management is ageing, well-known names are leaving and even CEO Cook is approaching retirement age. Now, there's new speculation about the successor.
Apple's head of hardware John Ternus at the last keynote for the iPad Pro M4.
(Image: Apple / Screenshot Keynote)
Apple CEO Tim Cook will be 64 years old on November 1. This means that it won't be much longer until the US retirement age of 67. It is unclear what the manager is planning, as he may want to remain at the helm of the iPhone manufacturer for even longer, for example until 70. Nevertheless, the question of what succession plan Apple has in place is an acute one. The problem is that many of the company's other well-known executives are not much younger, such as Cook's direct second in command, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams (61), and other well-known Apple names such as Head of Marketing Greg Joswiak (60), Head of Retail Deirdre O'Brien (58) and Software Boss Craig Federighi (54) are no longer juniors. If Apple does not want to repeat the debate about the company's top management, a younger person would have to succeed Cook.
"Young star" John Ternus
One possibility, which was brought into play in a Bloomberg report at the end of last week, is hardware boss John Ternus. The Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering is now (co-)responsible for all of the Group's key products. He also appears repeatedly in interviews and at keynotes, most recently at the launch of the iPad Pro M4, where Apple put him in the San Francisco subway. According to Bloomberg, it is conceivable that Ternus is being specifically prepared for the chief executive job. He was also recently an important presence at the internally important "Top 100" event, where the most important Apple managers meet once a year, and presented the technology roadmap.
Another key advantage of Ternus is his - by Apple standards - almost youthful age: born in 1975, he is not even 50 and could therefore head Apple for at least a decade if he were to take over immediately. It is not thought that Apple will go for an outsider, i.e. make a manager CEO who has not risen through the ranks of the Cupertino-based company. "It will be an insider," said one person familiar with the negotiations, "that's why they're making such a cult." Another says Ternus is currently being groomed for the job.
Or will Cook stay until 80?
Apple also has another problem: the Cook generation is facing further departures in the coming years. Chief designer Jony Ive left the company - and with him numerous designers from his department. However, Apple's top management has remained virtually intact since the death of Steve Jobs in 2011. All managers could easily retire, for example App Store and Events boss Phil Schiller. Ternus, on the other hand, would be a new generation. He is also a calm decision-maker who has "many management characteristics" of the successful Cook. Head of Services Eddy Cue has also said internally that Ternus should be the new boss. However, there is also criticism of the idea, including that he is "too political" and not respected enough by the key engineers, who are hoping for more "big bets" on the future.
Moreover, Ternus has no "Jobs street cred", as he was still too young to have worked intensively with the legendary Apple co-founder 13 years ago. However, he did rise slowly and consistently. Ternus was initially responsible for the iPad, then for the Mac and accessories such as AirPods. In 2020, he also took over iPhone hardware development and even the Apple Watch team, which once reported to COO Jeff Williams, is now Ternus' area of responsibility. He is also said to be committed to ensuring that the software and hardware teams work closely together, such as with the iPad Pro M4 with its OLED screen. Whatever Apple decides, it will hardly be abrupt. "If Trump or Biden can be US president at 80, Tim Cook can also remain Apple CEO for many years to come," says an acquaintance of the CEO. It is no longer automatically the case that you are deported at 65.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
