Apple Hardware Leader John Ternus to Succeed CEO Tim Cook

The transition follows a long-term succession planning process and was approved unanimously by the Apple board of directors, the company said in a Monday press release.

Cook, who became CEO in 2011, will continue in that role through the summer, working with Ternus on a smooth transition, and will become executive chairman of the board of directors at the time of the CEO transition, according to the release.

Speaking of Ternus, Cook said in the release: “He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

Ternus said in the release that he has spent almost his entire career at Apple, worked under Steve Jobs, and had Cook as his mentor.

“I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come, and I am so happy to know that the most talented people on earth are here at Apple, determined to be part of something bigger than any one of us,” Ternus said.

Arthur Levinson, who has been Apple’s non-executive chairman for the past 15 years, will become its lead independent director on Sept. 1.

“On behalf of the entire board of directors, we are incredibly grateful for [Cook’s] countless contributions to Apple and the world, and we are thrilled he will now be executive chairman,” Levinson said.

Speaking of Ternus, Levinson said that the board noted “his love of Apple, his leadership, deep technical knowledge and relentless focus on creating great products.”

It was reported in November that Cook was preparing to step down as part of a long-planned leadership transition and that Ternus was widely viewed as Cook’s most likely replacement, although no decisions had yet been made.

Apple announced in another Monday press release that Apple executive Johny Srouji will become chief hardware officer, effective immediately, and will take on an expanded role leading the Hardware Engineering organization that was most recently overseen by Ternus.

Srouji most recently served as vice president of Hardware Technologies, per the release.