Bloomberg: John Ternus emerging as the most likely successor to Tim Cook as Apple CEO - 9to5Mac

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses potential successors to Tim Cook as Apple's CEO, based on a report from Bloomberg. It focuses on Jeff Williams, the current Chief Operating Officer, and John Ternus, the Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, as the most likely candidates to eventually take over the CEO role from Tim Cook.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Potential Successors to Tim Cook as Apple CEO

1. Who are the main candidates to potentially replace Tim Cook as Apple's CEO?

• According to the report, the two most likely successors are:
  • Jeff Williams, the current Chief Operating Officer
  • John Ternus, the Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering

2. What are the key factors that make these candidates stand out?

• Jeff Williams was previously seen as the top candidate to succeed Tim Cook, but he is only 2 years younger than Cook, so the board may want a longer-term CEO.
• John Ternus is 49 years old, making him more likely to stick around as CEO for a longer period. He is well-liked within Apple and has the trust of Tim Cook and other leaders.

3. What about other Apple executives as potential successors?

• The report states that executives like Craig Federighi and Deirdre O'Brien are unlikely to be the next CEO.
• Others like Phil Schiller and Dan Riccio are seen as being near the end of their tenures at Apple.

[02] Timing of a Potential CEO Transition

1. When is Tim Cook expected to step down as Apple's CEO?

• The report suggests that people close to Tim Cook believe he will remain as Apple's CEO for at least another 3 years.

2. What is the rationale behind this timeline?

• Apple's board would likely want a successor who can commit to being CEO for at least a decade, like Tim Cook and Steve Jobs did. The "slowness to refresh the C-suite" at Apple makes it challenging to find such a long-term candidate.