Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering will replace an executive who had led the company since 2011
Apple announced, this Monday (April 20, 2026), the senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, as the company’s next CEO. He will replace Tim Cook.
The executive has been at Apple since 1998 and has led the iPhone maker since 2011, when Steve Jobs left the role. With the change, Cook takes over the board of directors.
In a statement, the company said that its board of directors decided unanimously and that the choice is part of succession planning conducted over several years.
According to the company, Cook will focus on “in certain aspects of the company, including engagement with policymakers around the world.”
Apple’s chairman of the board for the last 15 years, Arthur Levinson, will become the company’s main independent director.
During his tenure, Cook oversaw the launch of the Apple Watch, AirPods and Apple Vision Pro, as well as platforms such as iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple TV and Apple Music. He was also behind the expansion of existing product lines.
Cook leaves command of Apple with the company worth US$4 trillion, the most valuable in the world.
ABOUT JOHN TERMUS
John Ternus will also join the board of directors in September. The executive joined Apple’s product design team in 2001, then, in 2013, became vice president of Hardware Engineering. He has been senior vice president of Hardware Engineering since 2021.
