Apple is getting ready for Tim Cook's retirement, this is who is expected to take over

Apple is stepping up preparations to find a successor to Tim Cook as Apple CEO. According to the latest rumors, Tim Cook could step down from the role as soon as next year, with Apple’s board and senior executives having recently intensified succession planning. A likely pick for the next CEO is John Ternus, Senior VP of Hardware Engineering, but this is not set in stone at this time.

Tim Cook, who took over Apple from founder Steve Jobs, has headed the company since 2011. At the start of the month, Cook had his 65th birthday, a common year for people to retire around the world.

The move has been long-planned and is not related to the company’s current financial performance; Apple is expected to see very good end-of-year sales for the iPhone. No announcement is expected to be made before the next earnings report in late January, however this could always change, it’s just not expected right now.

The change at the head of the company will definitely be a big shift for the company and in recent times, several other changes have been made too. Earlier this year, former COO Jeff Williams retired from the company with his operational leadership being handed to Sabih Khan and remaining responsibilities being assumed by other executives.

Additionally, last year, Apple also switched its Chief Financial Officer when Luca Maestri stepped down, handing the role to Kevan Parekh, formerly the VP of Financial Planning and Analysis.

Apple’s leadership under Tim Cook has been quite different compared to when Steve Jobs was at the helm. The popular view of Steve Jobs is that he was a visionary. Tim Cook doesn’t have this aura, but has managed to introduce lots of new products, reinvent the company’s operating systems several times, and see Apple’s share price rise to astronomical heights. It’ll be interesting to see how his successor decides to run the company and what results they’ll have.

Source: Financial Times via 9to5Mac | Image via Depositphotos.com

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Posted Sunday 16 November 2025 at 4:51 am AEST (my time).

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