Tim Cook to step down as Apple CEO after 15 years, ending a defining era for the company

Tim Cook is stepping down as chief executive of Apple after 15 years in the role, bringing to a close one of the most consequential leadership periods in the company’s history.

Apple has confirmed that Cook will hand over to longtime Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus on 1 September 2026. Cook will remain at the company as executive chairman, while Ternus will also join Apple’s board of directors.

Cook took over from Steve Jobs in 2011 during a moment of enormous uncertainty, just weeks before Jobs’ death. What followed was a period of extraordinary growth. Under Cook’s leadership, Apple expanded far beyond its earlier scale, with the company growing from a market value of roughly US$350 billion to about US$4 trillion and building a global installed base of more than 2.5 billion active devices.

In Apple’s official announcement, Cook described the role as “the greatest privilege of my life”, saying he loved the company “with all of my being” and expressing gratitude for the chance to lead what he called an “extraordinary” team. He also strongly endorsed Ternus as his successor, describing him as an engineer, an innovator and a leader with integrity.

Ternus has been with Apple since 2001 and has played a central role in the development of the iPhone, iPad, Mac and AirPods. Recent reporting has cast him as a steady internal successor rather than a disruptive outsider, with analysts expecting continuity in Apple’s hardware-first strategy even as the company faces growing pressure around artificial intelligence.

Apple also confirmed another leadership shift alongside the CEO handover. Johny Srouji has been named chief hardware officer, taking on an expanded role that includes leadership of Hardware Engineering, the organisation previously overseen by Ternus. Meanwhile, longtime non-executive chairman Arthur Levinson will become lead independent director when Cook moves into the executive chairman role.

Beyond business, Cook’s leadership has had major symbolic importance for LGBTQIA+ visibility. In 2014, he publicly came out as gay in an essay for Bloomberg Businessweek, writing: “I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.” At the time, he became the most prominent openly gay CEO of a major global company.

Cook later explained that his decision to come out was deeply considered, saying he hoped it would show that being gay was “not a limiter” and that honesty could help others. Over the course of his tenure, he repeatedly supported marriage equality, opposed discriminatory laws and positioned Apple as a company with strong inclusion policies, giving his legacy a significance that reaches well beyond Silicon Valley.

Cook’s departure marks the end of an era, but not a clean break. By remaining as executive chairman, he will still carry considerable influence inside Apple even as Ternus takes the reins. That means the next chapter may feel less like a revolution than a carefully managed evolution. That final point is an inference based on Apple’s announced succession structure and current reporting on the transition.