John Ternus
CEO of Apple Inc. (born 1975)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Patrick Ternus (/ˈtɜːrnəs/; born May 1975) is an American engineer and business executive who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple since September 1, 2026. He is also a member of the company's board of directors. Ternus joined Apple's product design team in 2001 and was the company's senior vice president of hardware engineering from 2021 to 2026.
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May 1975 (age 51)
John Ternus | |
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Ternus in 2026 | |
| Born | John Patrick Ternus May 1975 (age 51) California, U.S. |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania (BSE) |
| Title | |
| Predecessor | Tim Cook |
Apple has credited Ternus with work on the iPad and AirPods product lines, and he oversaw hardware engineering during the company's transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon in Mac computers.
Early life and education
John Patrick Ternus was born in May 1975 in California, United States.[1][2][3] He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997.[4][2] While at Penn, Ternus competed on the men's swimming team.[5][6] For his senior project, he developed a mechanical feeding arm operable by individuals with quadriplegia using head movements.[7]
Career
Ternus began his career as a mechanical engineer designing virtual reality headsets at Virtual Research Systems.[8] He joined Apple in 2001 as a member of the product design team, working first on the Apple Cinema Display.[9][10] In 2013, he was appointed vice president of hardware engineering under Dan Riccio, overseeing the development of the AirPods, Mac and iPad product lines.[2]
In 2020, he was also put in charge of iPhone hardware, previously overseen directly by Riccio.[11][12] He was also in charge of overseeing the transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon in Mac computers that started the same year.[4] He was promoted to senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021, replacing Riccio,[11] and was put in charge of Apple Watch hardware in late 2022.[13] Bloomberg News reported that Ternus was then the "youngest member of Apple's executive team", and described him as "charismatic and well-liked".[11][12]
In January 2026, Ternus was given oversight of Apple's industrial design team, a change that Bloomberg News described as a further indication of his candidacy for the chief executive role.[14]
During his tenure as senior vice president, Ternus was widely reported to be a potential successor to Tim Cook as the company's CEO.[9][15] Apple's board of directors appointed him chief executive on April 17, 2026, and the company announced the decision publicly on April 20.[16][17] Apple said the appointment was approved unanimously and followed a long-term succession planning process, and that Cook would remain as the CEO through the summer to assist with the transition.[17]
Under the arrangement, which took effect on September 1, 2026, Cook became executive chair of Apple's board and Ternus joined the board as a director.[17][16] Johny Srouji succeeded him as head of hardware engineering, in an expanded role as chief hardware officer.[18]
Ternus became the CEO of Apple on September 1, 2026.[19][20]
Personal life
Ternus is a cycling and car racing enthusiast, and has taken colleagues to Washington state for off-road rally car racing.[21] His hobbies include racing his Porsche at tracks such as California's Laguna Seca raceway.[22] He is married with children.[23]
