Apple Inc. has expanded hardware chief John Ternus’ job to include design work, cementing his position as the most likely successor to CEO Tim Cook.
Cook, who has led the iPhone maker since 2011 and turns 65 in November, quietly appointed Ternus to manage the company’s hardware and software design teams through the end of 2025, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
This expands the role of Turnus to add to one of the most important functions of the company. He is now the “executive sponsor” of Apple’s design teams – on paper, the teams still report to Cook.
Having Turnus oversee design teams while still technically reporting to Cook is an odd arrangement, according to Apple employees Bloomberg spoke to. But this is a sensitive situation. Changing the reporting structure would reaffirm Ternus’ status as a rising star, at a time when the company is still keeping its succession plan under wraps.
Certainly, there are no signs of Tim Cook resigning from his position as Apple CEO any time soon. The only other viable CEO candidate is COO Sabih Khan.
Apple’s design team has been overseen by some of the most prominent figures in the company’s history – iPhone designer Jony Ive until 2019, Cook between 2015–2017, and former COO Jeff Williams from 2019 to 2025.
Turnus has now joined that list.
John Ternes: A Brief Profile
Turnus joined Apple in 2001 on the product design team to work with external monitors. He quickly advanced to become vice president of hardware engineering in 2013. In this role he oversaw the development of the iPad and AirPods.
By 2020, Ternus was also focusing on iPhone hardware. The following year, he was promoted to senior vice president of hardware engineering – a position he currently holds on paper – and joined the executive leadership team reporting directly to Cook.
An engineering graduate from Penn University, Ternus is credited with leading the complex transition of the Mac line-up from Intel chips to Apple silicon – widely considered one of the key moments in Apple’s storied history.
Why was he made the CEO of Apple after Tim Cook?
At 50, Ternes is the youngest member of Apple’s executive team, giving him the longest potential runway as chief executive. He is highly respected by Cook and former COO Williams and is seen by board members as a leader capable of reshaping Apple’s tools for the AI age.
Still, Apple is fundamentally about hardware – something that Turnus excels at and controls. Keeping the hardware and software design teams under his control, he now controls practically the entire value chain from iPhone to Mac and AirPods.
Certainly, Apple has been subtly raising its public profile. He is now attending Apple events and unveiling the brand new iPhone 17 Air in the 2025 edition. His working style is seen as a cross between the operational rigor of Tim Cook and the product vision of Steve Jobs – vital to running a multi-trillion dollar enterprise.
