A new article by Mark Gurman (from Bloomberg) gives us an idea of what the scenario involving the succession of Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.
According to the journalist, the situation at Apple seems complicated, mainly due to the uncertainty regarding someone to take over the role in the long term — although the company’s vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternusappears to have assumed this position.
Steve Jobs’ replacement and in the position since 2011, Cook recently spoke about the topic in an interview with singer Dua Lipa, stating that there are already very detailed internal succession plans at Apple. For people familiar with the subject heard by Gurman, however, this is not so certain, especially since there is not much transparency on the subject from the company.
There is a consensus from such sources that, if the position were available now, it would be filled by the current director of operations Jeff Williams — as most rumors surrounding his succession indicate. But there is a problem there, since he is only two years younger than the current CEO and Apple would probably like someone who could stay in the role for at least a decade (like Cook’s trajectory).
As people close to Apple’s executive director do not believe he will leave his position for at least the next three years, Ternus’ name comes into play — which was prominent in the announcement of the new iPads this week, it must be said. Having joined the company in 2001, he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming responsible for products such as iPads and iPhones, and leading efforts to transition from Intel chips to Apple Silicon in Macs.
Under 50 years old and loved by the current CEO, he would have been the name mentioned by Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue (who is very close to Cook), to colleagues as the next boss of Apple. Ternus has also been gaining a lot of attention in public presentations involving the company, as he even gave a 30-minute interview on a TV show talking about chips — an unusual space for other executives.
Even apparently liked by the majority within Apple, Ternus also faces criticism. Among them, for allegedly not having been fundamental in the company’s major projects in recent years (including the Apple Vision Pro), for failures such as the Touch Bar and for the lack of imposition. The change in Mac chip architecture, according to critics, could have happened much earlier.
But the fact is that other suggested names, such as those of Craig Federighi (senior vice president of software engineering) and Deirdre O’Brien (senior vice president of retail), are considered unlikely. Perhaps Ternus is really being groomed for the role — although Gurman’s sources believe that an outside name would be ideal to give the face of renewal and change that Apple needs. However, currently, this seems to be out of the question.
