After a tenure of 15 years, Tim Cook will transition the Apple CEO position to John Ternus, who serves as the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering. Beginning September 1, Ternus will oversee one of the globe’s most invaluable firms, though if you aren’t a devoted Apple follower, you may not be familiar with this individual, who has primarily stayed out of the limelight until now.

What is John Ternus’s duration of employment at Apple?

Ternus has been with Apple for almost half of his life—now aged 51, he has clocked in 25 years at the company.

He became part of Apple’s product design team in 2001, marking it as his second role post-college (the first being at a small manufacturer of virtual-reality equipment known as Virtual Research Systems). By 2013, Ternus had risen to the rank of VP of hardware engineering and was elevated to the SVP position in 2021.

Ternus—who is 15 years Tim Cook’s junior—was one of the youngest top Apple executives speculated to be a potential successor, suggesting that Apple is aiming to find someone to guide the company over a prolonged period. After all, this millennium has seen only two individuals at the helm of Apple, indicating that the continuity of leadership is valued by the organization.

Ternus reports directly to Cook, regarding him as a mentor, and supervises all hardware engineering initiatives at Apple. This is significant for a company renowned for its widespread hardware like the iPhone and the MacBook.

During his 2024 commencement address at the University of Pennsylvania’s engineering school, Ternus shared insights from his experiences at Apple, which may reflect facets of his character—or at least a polished representation of it.

“Always presume you’re as intelligent as anyone else in the room, but never think you know as much as they do,” Ternus articulated during the address. “With this outlook, you’ll acquire the confidence necessary to advance, but more importantly, the humility to inquire.”

In a technology landscape filled with prominent personalities, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear Ternus express the idea of “humility.” Even more noteworthy, he doesn’t seem to possess an X account.

Which projects did John Ternus spearhead at Apple?

Ternus’s initial project at Apple focused on examining components for the Apple Cinema Display, an early model of desktop monitor.

“During my first year, I found myself at a supplier’s facility. I was far from home. Late into the night, I was using a magnifying glass to count the number of grooves on the head of a screw… and I was disputing with the supplier because those parts had 35 grooves. They were meant to have 25,” Ternus recounted in his commencement address. “I clearly remember stepping back for a moment and pondering, ‘What am I doing? Is this standard?’”

As Ternus ascended the corporate ranks, his roles expanded. Though he may not dedicate as much time to inspecting screws, he still seems proud of ensuring the minute details are accurate. In a recent discussion, when Ternus was queried about his most cherished memory of Steve Jobs, he highlighted the co-founder’s focus on craftsmanship.

“[Jobs] was relocating a piece of furniture, a dresser, and pulled it from the wall and observed the back, reflecting on how the carpenter who crafted it ensured it was aesthetically pleasing,” Ternus stated. “It was as finely finished at the back as it was on the front, despite no one intended to see it, right? And I think about that constantly since it perfectly represents what we strive for here.”

Subsequently, he led the hardware development of products within the Apple ecosystem, overseeing the introduction of items such as AirPods, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. He also contributed to significant technical advancements at Apple, including the transition from Intel processors to Apple’s proprietary silicon.

Most recently, Ternus was engaged in the creation of the MacBook Neo, Apple’s latest lower-cost laptop model that reduces expenses through innovative adjustments in hardware design, such as utilizing an iPhone chip as its power source.

“We never aim to deliver subpar products. We aspire to launch exceptional products that embody the Apple experience and quality. Achieving that with the Neo necessitated constructing something entirely novel from the ground up… leveraging the technologies we’ve been developing, like Apple silicon, along with the expertise we’ve cultivated over many years of manufacturing Macs, phones, and iPads, and all these things,” Ternus explained to Tom’s Guide.

As CEO, Ternus will need to navigate Apple through the task of keeping pace in the AI competition and determining the future use of the underlying technology behind Vision Pro.

What additional information do we have about John Ternus?

Ternus participated in the swim team at Penn. For his senior project, he designed a feeding arm that individuals with quadriplegia could operate using head movements.

As per public records of political contributions, Ternus contributed $2,900 to Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2021.

Otherwise, Ternus has kept a relatively discreet public profile.