Is Former Penn Swimmer John Ternus The Next In Line To Be Apple’s CEO?

Could a former college swimmer be the next man in charge at Apple? 

According to reports, it certainly appears to be trending that way. 

With current Apple CEO Tim Cook about to turn 65, there is already talk of a succession plan for the tech giant. 

At the center of all that talk is 50-year-old John Ternus, who was a swimmer in the 90s for the University of Pennsylvania. 

Although detailed records of his time as a swimmer at Penn aren’t readily available, an article from the Daily Pennsylvanian documents that, as aa freshman in 1994, Ternus won the 50 freestyle and 200 individual medley in a dual meet against Swarthmore College. 

Ternus went on to letter his freshman year at Penn before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1997 and embarking on the career journey that might lead him to the top of Apple. 

Ternus started at Apple in 2001 and quickly worked his way up the ladder, according to Forbes. He initially worked on external Mac monitors, and then in 2013, he was named vice president of hardware engineering, where he oversaw AirPods, Mac and iPad development. 

In 2020, he took over iPhone hardware engineering, and then in 2021, he became a member of Apple’s executive team when he was named senior vice president of hardware engineering. 

According to the Forbes article, Ternus has seen “increased visibility” at product launches and industry events, signaling that the company is easing him into the role of CEO. 

“Ternus stands out,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote in a recent report about Ternus. “He’s charismatic and well-regarded by Apple loyalists and trusted by Cook, who has granted Ternus more responsibilities. The executive has emerged as a key decision-maker on product road maps, features, and strategies, extending his influence beyond the traditional scope of a hardware engineering chief.”