Apple is preparing succession plans for the eventual retirement of its current CEO Tim Cook. While several potential successors are being considered, a new report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman paints John Ternus as the most likely candidate to take over once Cook retires.
The report profiles Ternus, Apple’s chief of hardware engineering since his promotion in 2021, and how he has emerged as the company’s top pick as a future CEO due to his leadership qualities and other factors. Within Apple, Ternus is described as an astute and “reticent” who’s well respected by Apple’s more senior brass, including Cook and COO Jeff Williams. Cook is a big fan of Ternus as both share a lot of managerial qualities, with several former Apple engineers praising Ternus as a “trustworthy hand.”
Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of services, has reportedly been vocal about his support for Ternus as a future CEO internally within the company. In addition, Ternus’s media presence has been steadily increasing over the past several years as he unveiled several Apple products during the company’s keynotes, the most recent of which are the new iPad Air and iPad Pro during this week’s “Let Loose” event.
However, some engineers at Apple feel that Ternus isn’t respected enough yet by top employees and that he wasn’t directly involved with some of Apple’s recent projects like Vision Pro, the ill-fated electric car, and the robotic smart home device endeavor. Ternus has also had a few product misses, one of which was the controversial Touch Bar on previous MacBook Pro generations. Some within Apple also believed that Ternus needs to have more of a leader-like presence in decision-making before he can become CEO.
A big hint of Ternus’s future destiny came in the form of this year’s Top 100, Apple’s annual retreat for the company’s 100 most influential executives. Unlike past years, Ternus conducted an extensive presentation outlining Apple’s future technology roadmap, which one source describes as “grooming” Ternus for the CEO’s role.
Other potential CEO candidates include Craig Federighi and Deirdre O’Brien, though both names now seem unlikely. Some within Apple believe the company should seriously consider an external candidate as CEO to infuse the company with fresh ideas. Nevertheless, Apple is understandably wary of such an option, considering the past misfortunes of John Sculley.
