John Ternus recalls feeling out of place and unsure he measured up to more confident colleagues when he first joined Apple, a formative doubt he says pushed him to ask for help and grow, now standing in stark contrast to his rise after 25 years to lead the iPhone maker at a pivotal moment for its future
“I wasn’t sure I belonged there.”
That moment of doubt, recalled by John Ternus about his early days at Apple, now sits in sharp contrast to his next role as the company’s incoming chief executive.
Apple said on Monday that Ternus will take over in September from Tim Cook, who will become executive chairman, extending the iPhone maker’s long tradition of promoting leaders from within.
Cook praised his successor in a statement, saying he has the “mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor.”
Ternus, 51, has spent 25 years at Apple, where he rose to oversee hardware engineering for products including the iPad, AirPods and recent iPhone models. His elevation comes as the company faces mounting pressure to reinvigorate an artificial intelligence strategy widely viewed as trailing its peers.
Apple has encountered setbacks in building an upgraded AI powered Siri and has recently leaned on external partners such as Google and its Gemini models.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the promotion “clearly shows Apple’s emphasis on product at the center of the flywheel will remain,” framing the move as a signal that the company will double down on hardware led innovation.
Ternus joined Apple in 2001 after working at Virtual Research, an early virtual reality firm. A mechanical engineering graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he balanced his studies with varsity swimming before entering the tech industry.
Reflecting on his first days at Apple, he described the experience as both exhilarating and intimidating.
“I wasn’t sure I belonged there,” he said. “The people I met were so smart and so confident, and they knew so much more than me, but I’ll always be grateful that I wasn’t afraid to ask for help when I needed it.”
His first project involved a plastic desktop monitor known as the Apple Cinema Display, an early lesson in the kind of detail driven engineering that would define his career.
“Every experience like this sharpened my ability to approach problems from different angles,” he said. “They give me the confidence and willingness to try new things and the resolve to keep going until I find a solution.”
Over time, Ternus became a central figure in Apple’s product pipeline, helping guide the development of its devices and playing a key role in the company’s shift toward in house silicon chips. He was named senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021, expanding his remit after former hardware chief Dan Riccio moved to focus on new initiatives.
A regular presenter at Apple launch events, Ternus has become one of the company’s most visible executives, including unveiling new devices from its Cupertino headquarters.
In a statement announcing his appointment, he credited Cook and Apple co founder Steve Jobs for shaping his career.
