Former Penn Swimmer John Ternus Named Tim Cook’s Successor as Apple CEO

Apple Senior Vice President of hardware engineering and former University of Pennsylvania swimmer John Ternus has been announced as the company’s next Chief Executive Officer, while current CEO Tim Cook will become the executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors.

Ternus, 51, swam for the Quakers in the 1990s and graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Ternus was awarded a varsity letter as a freshman at Penn (1994) and competed all four years.

Ternus started with Apple in 2001, as a part of the product design team working on Mac monitors. Then, in 2013, Ternus was promoted to vice president of hardware engineering, overseeing AirPods, iPad, and Mac development, and took the lead on iPhone hardware engineering in 2020.

Before Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems.

In January of 2021, Ternus was promoted again, this time to senior vice president of hardware engineering, which also put him on the tech giant’s executive team.

Cook, who was also 51 when he took the role of CEO, will officially step down on September 1, though he will continue in his role until that date to help ensure a smooth transition.

In a news release from Apple, Ternus said the following about the new role:

Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor. It has been a privilege to help shape the products and experiences that have changed so much of how we interact with the world and with one another. I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come, and I am so happy to know that the most talented people on earth are here at Apple, determined to be part of something bigger than any one of us. I am 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.

Cook also spoke highly of Ternus in that same release from Apple, Cook credited Ternus with having the “soul of an innovator” and is “without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.”

“John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future.” Cook said. “I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character, and I look forward to working closely with him on this transition and in my new role as executive chairman.”