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John Ternus

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John Ternus
Ternus in 2026
Born
John Patrick Ternus

May 1975 (age 51)
California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BSE)
Title
  • CEO of Apple (2026–present)
  • Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering of Apple (2021–2026)
  • Vice President of Hardware Engineering of Apple (2013–2021)
PredecessorTim Cook

John Patrick Ternus (/ˈtɜːrnəs/; born May 1975) is an American engineer and business executive who has been the chief executive officer (CEO) of Apple since September 1, 2026. He is also a member of the company's board of directors. Ternus joined Apple's product design team in 2001 and was the company's senior vice president of hardware engineering from 2021 to 2026.

Apple has credited Ternus with work on the iPad and AirPods product lines, and he oversaw hardware engineering during the company's transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon in Mac computers. Upon inheriting Jony Ive's position as senior vice president of hardware engineering, it has been widely reported by tech analysts that he has radically changed Apple's hardware and design philosophy, pivoting Apple's hardware engineering into prioritizing function over form, marking a major departure from Jony Ive's form over function focus for Apple products.[1]

Early life and education

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John Patrick Ternus was born in May 1975 in California, United States.[2][3][4] He received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997.[5][3] While at Penn, Ternus competed on the men's swimming team.[6][7] For his senior project, he developed a mechanical feeding arm operable by individuals with quadriplegia using head movements.[8]

Career

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Ternus began his career as a mechanical engineer designing virtual reality headsets at Virtual Research Systems.[9] He joined Apple in 2001 as a member of the product design team, working first on the Apple Cinema Display.[10][11] In 2013, he was appointed vice president of hardware engineering under Dan Riccio, overseeing the development of the AirPods, Mac and iPad product lines.[3]

In 2020, he was also put in charge of iPhone hardware, previously overseen directly by Riccio.[12][13] He was also in charge of overseeing the transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon in Mac computers that started the same year.[5] He was promoted to senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021, replacing Riccio,[12] and was put in charge of Apple Watch hardware in late 2022.[14] Bloomberg News reported that Ternus was then the "youngest member of Apple's executive team", and described him as "charismatic and well-liked".[12][13]

In January 2026, Ternus was given oversight of Apple's industrial design team, a change that Bloomberg News described as a further indication of his candidacy for the chief executive role.[15]

During his tenure as senior vice president, Ternus was widely reported to be a potential successor to Tim Cook as the company's CEO.[10][16] His appointment was announced on April 20, 2026, and took effect on September 1, when he also joined Apple's board and Cook became executive chair.[17][18]

Personal life

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Ternus is a cycling and car racing enthusiast, and has taken colleagues to Washington state for off-road rally car racing.[19] His hobbies include racing his Porsche at tracks such as California's Laguna Seca raceway.[20] He is married with children.[21]

References

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  1. ↑ Dina, Cristian (April 21, 2026). "John Ternus built Apple's hardware for 24 years and now he has to figure out AI". The Next Web. Retrieved September 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Who is John Ternus? Know all about Apple's engineer-turned-CEO: Age, net worth and more". The Economic Times.
  3. 1 2 3 Oladipo, Gloria (April 21, 2026). "Who is John Ternus, Apple's next CEO?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
  4. ↑ Mathur, Vishal (September 1, 2026). "John Ternus: The making of Apple's new CEO". Hindustan Times. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Apple Leadership – John Ternus". Apple. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  6. ↑ Hasday, Michael (February 3, 1994). "M. Swim coasts to easy win". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Vol. CX, no. 9. Philadelphia. p. 10. Retrieved April 29, 2026. Freshman John Ternus mirrored Fletcher's individual double-win success, placing first in the 50 freestyle and the 200 individual medley.
  7. ↑ Smith, Dave (April 20, 2026). "Meet John Ternus, the 51-year-old former swimming champ who will succeed Tim Cook as Apple CEO". Fortune. Archived from the original on April 20, 2026. Retrieved September 3, 2026. Ternus is an 'all-time letter winner' for the UPenn men's swimming team, representing the varsity swim team a record number of times.
  8. ↑ Huang, Kalley; Mickle, Tripp (January 8, 2026). "The Man Who Could Be Apple's Next C.E.O." The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  9. ↑ Yildirim, Ece (November 16, 2025). "Apple's Succession Wars Start. Here's Who Might Take Tim Cook's Spot". Gizmodo. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Mann, Jyoti (November 17, 2025). "Who is John Ternus, the Apple exec tipped to take over from Tim Cook?". Business Insider. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  11. ↑ Ternus, John (May 18, 2024). 2024 Penn Engineering Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony (Speech). Palestra: University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. Event occurs at 38:17. Retrieved November 18, 2025. My first project at Apple was the Cinema Display; it was a large desktop monitor.
  12. 1 2 3 Gurman, Mark (January 25, 2021). "Apple's Hardware Chief Leaves Post for Unnamed New Project". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Gurman, Mark (August 29, 2021). "Tim Cook's Run as Apple CEO Could End as Early as 2025. Who Will Replace Him?". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  14. ↑ Gurman, Mark (February 2, 2023). "Apple Is Dropping Industrial Design Chief Role in Post-Jony Ive Era". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  15. ↑ Gurman, Mark (January 22, 2026). "Apple hardware chief John Ternus now overseeing design in latest sign of CEO candidacy". Bloomberg News. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
  16. ↑ Charlton, Hartley (October 6, 2025). "Gurman: Major Apple leadership shakeup impending with John Ternus as next CEO". MacRumors. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Apple Inc. Form 8-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. April 20, 2026. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman; John Ternus to become Apple CEO" (Press release). Apple Inc. April 20, 2026. Retrieved September 1, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Apple's John Ternus Profile: The Likely Successor to Tim Cook". Bloomberg News. April 20, 2026. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Who Is John Ternus? Meet the Incoming Apple CEO". The Wall Street Journal. April 21, 2026. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  21. ↑ "John Ternus, Apple's new wicked calm CEO". Financial Times. September 4, 2026. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
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