The New York Times profiles Apple’s expected next CEO

It has long been an open secret that John Ternus is a leading candidate to succeed Tim Cook as Apple CEO, following more than fourteen years at the helm. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reinforced that expectation through years of reporting on Apple’s succession planning.

Today, The New York Times adds to that narrative with a detailed profile of Ternus that positions him as a front-runner while also outlining several alternative internal succession paths.

Kalley Huang and Tripp Mickle pen the profile for The New York Times. The piece opens by crediting Ternus with the idea to only include a LiDAR sensor on the rear camera system for iPhone Pro models.

Threading the needle between adding new bells and whistles to Apple’s products while watching the bottom line has defined the careful, low-profile style of Mr. Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001. He is now considered by some company insiders to be the front-runner to replace Tim Cook, Apple’s longtime chief executive, if Mr. Cook decides to step aside.

Apple last year began accelerating its planning for Mr. Cook’s succession, according to three people close to the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity about Apple’s confidential deliberations. Mr. Cook, 65, has told senior leaders that he is tired and would like to reduce his workload, the people said. Should he step down, Mr. Cook is likely to become the chairman of Apple’s board, according to three people close to the company.

Before diving into the profile, the NYT report flags three other potential CEO candidates who have been suggested before as well due to their leadership roles:

But Mr. Cook is also preparing several other internal candidates to be his potential successor, two of the people said. They could include Craig Federighi, Apple’s head of software; Eddy Cue, its head of services; Greg Joswiak, its head of worldwide marketing; and Deirdre O’Brien, its head of retail and human resources.

The piece goes on to contrast Ternus with Cook, noting his role as a product person rather than a policy and politics leader.

 Inside the company, he is known more for maintaining products than developing new ones, according to six former employees. And Mr. Ternus, who has been an engineer in Silicon Valley for all of his adult life, has limited exposure to the policy issues and political responsibilities associated with Apple’s corner office.

To that point, the profile highlights current and upcoming products that Ternus has pushed:

In recent years, Mr. Ternus has shouldered more responsibility for updates to Apple’s products. He spearheaded the iPhone Air, which was released last year with a new, slim design, and was a key leader in Apple’s transition from using Intel’s chips in Macs to using the company’s own chips in 2020. Mr. Ternus has also been involved in Apple’s experimentation with foldable phones, according to one of the people close to the company.

You can read the profile in full here.

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