John Ternus is now the CEO of Apple
From Jobs to Cook to Ternus.
From Jobs to Cook to Ternus.
by Sep 1, 2026, 10:04 AM UTC
Richard Lawler is a senior editor following news across tech, culture, policy, and entertainment. He joined The Verge in 2021 after several years covering news at Engadget.
For the first time since 2011, one of the world’s most valuable companies has a new leader, as today marks John Ternus’ first day as Apple’s CEO. He’s replacing Tim Cook, who will continue on as the executive chairman on Apple’s board and departed with a letter to employees that remarked, “This place is proof that culture triumphs over everything. We share a belief that what we build matters, and that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it.”
Ternus is taking over a company dealing with the rise of AI, shortages of RAM and other components due to that growth in AI, and a political and economic situation that is only getting more complicated as time passes. He will also do it without many of the executives who worked with Cook and Steve Jobs, like Phil Schiller, who Bloomberg reported will step down from his role leading the App Store.
Here’s a look at Apple’s senior leadership team as it stands today:
The first Apple hardware event of the Ternus era is just around the corner on September 9th, where we expect to see new iPhones including a foldable “Ultra.” It will give us an early glimpse of what to expect, and the new public faces of the company going forward.
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