Updated ,first published
San Francisco: Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down from the job that he inherited from the late Steve Jobs, ending a nearly 15-year reign that saw the company’s market value soar by more than $US3.6 trillion ($5.02 trillion) during an iPhone-fuelled era of prosperity.
Cook, 65, will turn the CEO duties to Apple’s head of hardware engineering, John Tenus, on September 1 while remaining involved with the Cupertino, California, company as executive chairman.
That’s similar to the transitions made by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Netflix’s Reed Hastings after they ended their highly successful tenures as CEO.
Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001, has recently overseen the company’s hardware engineering efforts and has played a key role in reigniting sales of products such as Apple’s Mac computers, which have gained market share in recent years.
In naming Ternus chief executive, Apple is shifting from Cook, a supply chain guru who helped turn Apple into a global brand that churns out hundreds of millions of units per year, to a leader who has long focused on design and products.
Ben Bajarin, CEO of technology consulting firm Creative Strategies, said Ternus was well-liked within Apple “and will bring fresh energy”.
Separately, Apple said that Johny Srouji, who has overseen Apple’s custom chip and sensor designs, has been named chief hardware officer.
More to come
AP with Reuters
Get news and reviews on technology, gadgets and gaming in our Technology newsletter. Sign up to receive it every Friday.
