John Ternus is now the CEO of Apple

# John Ternus is now the CEO of Apple Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/987150/apple-ceo-john-ternus](https://www.theverge.com/tech/987150/apple-ceo-john-ternus) For the first time since 2011, one of the world’s most valuable companies has a new leader, as today marks John Ternus’ first day as Apple’s CEO\. He’s replacing Tim Cook, who will continue on as the executive chairman on Apple’s board and departed with a letter to employees that remarked, “This place is proof that culture triumphs over everything\. We share a belief that what we build matters, and that we have both the opportunity and the responsibility to leave the world better than we found it\.” Ternus is taking over a company dealing with the rise of AI, shortages of RAM and other components due to that growth in AI, and a political and economic situation that is only getting more complicated as time passes\. He will also do it without many of the executives who worked with Cook and Steve Jobs, like Phil Schiller, who[Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-31/apple-s-phil-schiller-steps-down-from-running-app-store-and-product-events?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc4ODE5Mzk5NywiZXhwIjoxNzg4Nzk4Nzk3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUS0VDTE1LSkg2VjQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJDNEVEQ0FFMUZBMDU0MEJFQTI0QTlGMjExQzFFOTA4MCJ9.G1fAbZQH31AQBLUajPYPUJ7BqRyeIUN7SbxQZFAqMXE)reported[will step down](https://www.theverge.com/tech/986869/apple-phil-schiller-stepping-down)from his role leading the App Store\. Here’s a look at[Apple’s senior leadership team](https://www.apple.com/leadership/)as it stands today: [](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/Apple-leadership-before-after.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100) With Ternus in charge, Tim Cook has been moved to Executive Chair and Phil Schiller continues as an Apple Fellow, despite[handing off his day\-to\-day tasks](https://www.theverge.com/tech/986869/apple-phil-schiller-stepping-down)of heading up the Apple Store and Apple events\. We can also see that Katherine Adams’ position of SVP of government affairs has been fully vacated, with some of that responsibility being handed to Jennifer Newstead and Tim Cook, who’s now Trump’s full\-time handler\. Apple’s former CFO Luca Maestri is no longer listed on the leadership team after he[transitioned](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2024/08/apple-announces-chief-financial-officer-transition/)to the roll of VP of corporate services in 2024\. The first Apple hardware event of the Ternus era is[just around the corner on September 9th](https://www.theverge.com/tech/983407/apple-iphone-launch-event-2026-date), where we expect to see new iPhones including a foldable “Ultra\.” It will give us an early glimpse of what to expect, and[the new public faces](https://www.theverge.com/tech/915896/john-ternus-apple-ceo-tim-cook-johny-srouji-mac-future)of the company going forward\. **Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\. - Richard Lawler - Thomas Ricker