John Ternus has officially stepped into the role of Apple CEO today (September 2), with Tim Cook transitioning to Executive Chair.
In his first memo to employees, Ternus praised Cook’s leadership, calling him a CEO who led with “values, decency, and humanity. ” He expressed gratitude for Cook’s guidance during the transition and said Apple is “so lucky” to have him continue as executive chairman, according to a report by MacRumours.
In the memo, Ternus described Apple as “the greatest company in the world” and thanked employees for their support. He emphasized his excitement about Apple’s future and highlighted the company’s upcoming launch event next week, which he said will be “phenomenal. Ternus also gave a subtle nod to the iPhone 18 series, expected to debut at Apple’s September 9 “Surprise and Shine” event. He wrote: “I’m just as excited about what lies beyond that, including the incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven’t even imagined yet that we’ll dream up and create together. ” I’m honored to be stepping into this role at what is truly the greatest company in the world, and I am so excited about everything we have in store.
We have a huge launch next week that’s going to be phenomenal. Thanks for everything you’ve all done to make it possible.
- The product design team has been restructured. Former engineering VP and Ternus lieutenant Laura Legros is returning to Apple, and the product design team was restructured.
Johny Srouji is now Apple’s chief hardware officer, taking over the Hardware Engineering team that Ternus previously led.