Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is doubling down on his prediction of who will take over Apple when Tim Cook eventually steps down — and this time, it sounds almost certain. The report comes on the 14th anniversary of the passing of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
In his latest Sunday Power On newsletter, Gurman reports that Apple executives now view hardware engineering chief John Ternus as the clear successor to Cook. The 50-year-old executive has steadily gained influence, leading major product launches like the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 lineup, while taking on a bigger role in shaping the company’s hardware and design strategy.
Ternus has become one of Apple’s most visible leaders and a trusted advisor to Cook, who turns 65 next month. With longtime operations chief Jeff Williams preparing to retire by the end of the year—once seen as Cook’s likely replacement — the path to the top job now looks open for Ternus.
Gurman previously identified Ternus as Apple’s most probable next CEO last year and again this summer, but this new report suggests that belief has solidified inside the company. Apple’s board is said to value his deep technical background and long-term potential to guide Apple into its next phase of product innovation. “Those close to the company see little doubt that Ternus will eventually be CEO,” writes Gurman.
Cook hasn’t hinted at retirement, but Gurman notes that when he does step aside, he’s expected to stay involved, possibly as chairman of the board. After years of leadership stability, Apple appears to be entering a slow transition—one that increasingly points to John Ternus as the next person to lead the world’s third most valuable company (after NVIDA and Microsoft).
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i was rooting for craig federighi
I like Craig better too. I feel like a lot of the bad decisions Apple has made, you can tell that Craig was against them, but was overruled. However, I get the impression that Craig does not like/want to deal with the politics and public persona aspects of being the top dog. He would rather stick to working on the actual products/software I think. And while he has come a long way, he absolutely hates public speaking!
Maybe Elon Musk? Seems this is the path Apple is taking!