Apple has named long-time executive John Ternus as its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO), marking a major leadership transition after years of remaining largely out of the public spotlight.
Ternus will take over as chief executive in September, succeeding Tim Cook, who transformed Apple into a $4 trillion technology giant during his 15-year tenure following the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.
A veteran of the company, Ternus has spent around 25 years at Apple and has, over the past five years, led hardware engineering for key products including the iPhone, iPad and Mac.
His elevation was endorsed by Cook, who said on Monday, when Apple announced the leadership change, that Ternus is “without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”
The timing of the appointment comes after Apple’s 50th anniversary celebrations and ahead of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) scheduled for June.
The leadership change comes at a critical juncture for Apple, which while thriving under Cook’s iPhone-driven expansion, has lagged behind competitors in artificial intelligence development and struggled to deliver promised AI-based features over the past two years.
Analysts say the incoming chief faces the challenge of positioning AI as a core user interface technology. “The challenge for the new CEO is really to make sure Apple is able to crack AI as the new user interface and reinvent human machine interaction,” said Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson.
Ternus, who is relatively unknown outside Apple, joined the company in July 2001. Before that, he worked four years as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems.
He graduated in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a swimmer and developed a senior engineering project designing a mechanical feeding arm for quadriplegic users controlled by head movement.
In Apple’s announcement, Ternus said he was “humbled to step into this role, and I promise to lead with the values and vision that have come to define this special place for half a century” and pledged to lead with the values and vision that have defined the company for 50 years.
Cox’s Bazar Life Desk/UNB
