Apple Inc. will get a new CEO later this year, following the long-expected retirement of Tim Cook, who took over from the late Steve Jobs in 2011. His name is John Ternus, and he is currently Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering.

Cook, who will be ending his reign as one of the most powerful queer people in business, will be stepping down effective September 1, according to a company announcement. And NBC News says that the "transition will end Cook's 15-year run as one of the most successful technology CEOs in modern history."

"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company," Cook says in a release. "I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world."

Apple's announcement notes that Ternus joined the company in 2001, just three years after Cook, and he became a vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013. The company credits him with being "instrumental" with launch of multiple product lines, including the iPad, AirPods, and multiple generations of the iPhone and Apple Watch.

"I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward," Ternus says in a statement. "Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor. It has been a privilege to help shape the products and experiences that have changed so much of how we interact with the world and with one another."

Ternus adds, "I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come, and I am so happy to know that the most talented people on earth are here at Apple, determined to be part of something bigger than any one of us."

Cook will leave the company as it is in the midst of the AI sea change affecting much of the tech world, and ahead of what could be Apple's most consequential product launches in years. As we learned last year, the company has a new tabletop AI "companion" in the works, which is expected to hit the market in 2027, as well as a new smart speaker with visual display, and a new home security system to compete with Ring and Google Home.

When Cook took the reins of Apple in 2011, he had enormous shoes to fill, following the early retirement and untimely death of co-founder and iconic CEO Steve Jobs. And at the time it was a major headline that Cook was gay — even though Cook wasn't very open about his sexuality and made things very awkward for several years whenever it came up.

It barely registers as a thing now, and it's telling that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman — who has arguably taken over as the most powerful gay man in the tech world — was able to be openly gay and it was never made to be much of a thing. When he posted photos from his wedding to Oliver Mulherin in 2024, there were still plenty of people on the internet who had no idea he was gay, and the news inspired a collective shrug.

As the New York Times notes, Cook has forged a fairly tight relationship with President Donald Trump, likely in order to avoid being punished for doing too much manufacturing in China.

As Trump said of Cook in 2019, "He calls me, and others don’t. Others go out and hire very expensive consultants, and Tim Cook calls Donald Trump directly. Pretty good, and I would take that call, too."

Cook, now 65, will transition into the role of executive chairman of Apple, and will likely still be the face of the company on the global stage for some period of time — as well as its designated Trump whisperer.

At age 50, Ternus is the same age Cook was when he took over the CEO role.

Top image:  Apple's John Ternus speaks during the 2017 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center on June 5, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)