Who will succeed Tim Cook at the helm of Apple? This question does not require an urgent answer, but the 63-year-old main person himself recognizes that a succession plan ” very detailed “ is planned and that it will probably give up its apron by 2030. According to sources from Bloomberg, Tim Cook could stay in office for at least three more years. And after ?
Afterwards, Jeff Williams’ name got around a lot, but the handyman (he oversees operations, customer service, design, Apple Watch and health initiatives) is only two years younger than the current big boss. “If you had asked me five years ago, Jeff was clearly in pole position to become CEO”whispers a long-time leader to Bloomberg. But his time has passed.
Another man now holds the rope, John Ternus. Joining Apple in 2001, the engineer gradually rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President in charge of hardware engineering, an eminently crucial position in a company where three quarters of turnover comes from the sale of hardware. devices.
According to the sources of Bloomberg, John Ternus combines qualities. Aged less than 50, he could guarantee Apple’s stability for many years, as Tim Cook did. Above all, it is appreciated by both the teams and management. “Tim likes him a lot because he knows how to present well, he is very calm, never writes anything controversial in an email and takes decisions very carefully”, confides a person close to the management team. Given the multiple unpackings of internal emails in the context of lawsuits and their consequences, sticking to consensual things is indeed a quality in itself.
“Like Tim, he has many managerial abilities. He is a trustworthy person who has succeeded in every role entrusted to him.”, supports Christopher Stringer, a former executive in charge of material design. To drive the point home, John Ternus has the support of Eddy Cue, the old veteran at the head of the services.
The head of hardware engineering nevertheless has detractors, who criticize him in particular for a lack of vision and charisma. He also didn’t really participate in Apple’s latest, most ambitious projects, namely the Vision Pro and the ultimately aborted car. But is this really a bad thing?
A sign that John Ternus is well on the management’s radar, he is increasingly in the spotlight: he supervises the presentation of numerous products during the keynotes — he is the one who introduced the latest iPads — and occupies a more important role in the media. Every spring, Apple holds a meeting during which top executives are briefed on the technology roadmap. This year, John Ternus led this presentation from A to Z for the first time. For a Source of Bloombergthere is no doubt: “It’s his preparation. »
