The Tim Cook chapter at Apple is coming to an end.
Apple announced on Monday that Cook is stepping down as CEO, effective September 1, 2026. Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman.
John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, who was widely viewed as Cook’s likely successor, will be taking the helm as chief executive.
Cook has worked at Apple for nearly three decades, first joining Apple in 1998 as senior vice president of worldwide operations. Apple cofounder Steve Jobs named him COO in 2005, and Cook was instrumental in building out the iPhone company’s massive supply chain while in the role. He was then named Apple’s CEO in 2011, taking over for Jobs.
Cook called his tenure as CEO “the greatest privilege of my life” in Apple’s news release.
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“I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world,” Cook said.
Apple reached new heights under Cook
While Cook faced the unenviable task of taking over for a man many viewed as a once-in-a-generation product visionary, Apple’s growth under Cook was undeniable.
Under his guidance, Apple became the world’s first trillion-dollar publicly traded company in 2018. Today it has a market cap of over $4 trillion.
And while Apple has yet to release a new product that has surpassed the iPhone’s high water mark, Cook oversaw the company’s launch of multiple products that are now household names, such as the Apple Watch and AirPods.
Cook was also responsible for growing Apple’s services business — which includes the App Store, iCloud, and Apple TV, among other digital services — into a $100 billion-plus juggernaut with the kind of high margins the company is famous for.
This is a developing story…
