Tim Cook exits Apple CEO role tomorrow

Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple’s chief executive on Monday, September 1, 2026, transitioning to the role of executive chairman after a transformative 15-year tenure that grew the company from a $350 billion enterprise into a $5 trillion global colossus — a 14-fold surge in value that cemented Apple as the world’s most valuable company.

Hardware engineering chief John Ternus takes over as chief executive, inheriting a company fundamentally reshaped under Cook’s stewardship. During his tenure, Cook shepherded the launch of the Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV+, and the landmark transition to custom Apple silicon chips — each a product line that opened entirely new revenue frontiers for the Cupertino giant.

Cook, who succeeded the late Steve Jobs in 2011, leaves the chief executive role having overseen Apple’s deepest expansion into services, wearables and health technology. Ternus, widely respected inside Apple for his engineering rigour, now faces the defining challenge of sustaining momentum in an increasingly competitive global technology landscape.