Apple has appointed a new CEO, and Tim Cook endorsed this decision by referencing Steve Jobs.

      John Ternus became Apple's chief executive on Tuesday, marking him as the eighth individual to occupy the role in the company's 50-year history and the first engineer to do so since Steve Jobs. Tim Cook spent his final day composing a message to the staff. Chance Miller acquired the memo for 9to5Mac on Monday, while Mark Gurman reported on it for Bloomberg that same morning.

      The memo begins with, “Today is my last day as CEO of Apple. This is a moment I always knew would come, but it’s still hard to believe it's here.”

      Cook's actual message covers little about products, AI, China, or regulations; it focuses instead on culture. He expressed, “I take the greatest pride in what an annual report could never reflect. This place exemplifies that culture prevails above all else.” He referenced a piece of company scripture, stating that Apple has made its “dent in the universe” as Steve Jobs quoted, “because of who we are and what we believe.”

      Regarding his successor, Cook is clear in his praise. He finds “great comfort in passing the reins to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John” and notes that Ternus has a unique understanding of what it takes to develop transformative products. Cook also emphasized that he is not leaving the company but rather stepping away from his role, signing off with anticipation to see everyone at Apple Park in his new capacity.

      He then shared a post on X, saying, “My title changes tomorrow, but my love for the Apple community will never change.” This post garnered 24.2 million views, and Elon Musk responded to congratulate him.

      The statistics he leaves behind highlight Cook's tenure. Taking over after market close on August 24, 2011, Apple was valued at just under $350 billion. Now, it is valued at approximately $4.6 trillion. Revenue increased from $157 billion in his first complete financial year to an anticipated $477 billion upon the closing of this fiscal year in September. The services sector, which was nearly nonexistent at the start, generated over $109 billion in fiscal 2025, making up more than a quarter of the total.

      Bloomberg's Ryan Vlastelica reported that stock gains totaled 2,258%, or 2,716% when including dividends. Various published reports indicate gains between roughly 2,250% and 2,750%, depending on the metrics used, with Bloomberg making corrections throughout the day. Bank of America calculated that Apple added market value at about $32 million every hour for nearly 15 years.

      John Ternus, aged 51, began his career at Apple in 2001 as an engineer at the age of 26, shortly after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from Pennsylvania. His initial project involved creating the Cinema Display, a plastic desktop monitor. He contributed to the G5-era iMacs, became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, and has played a role in every iPad generation, the first AirPods, as well as hardware for the iPhone, Mac, and Watch, including the recent thin iPhone Air and more affordable MacBook Neo.

      While not a natural showman, Ternus isn’t inexperienced on stage either; he has led product launches for many years and expressed an interest in expanding Apple’s film and television pursuits, one of the few strategic areas he discussed prior to assuming his new role.

      During his engineering commencement address at his alma mater in 2024, he advised graduates, “Always assume you’re as smart as anyone else in the room, but never assume you know as much as they do,” recounting his own experience at Apple at 26 and feeling uncertain of his place among more knowledgeable colleagues. He concluded by urging the graduates to strive to make a dent in the universe—a phrase echoed by Cook in his farewell.

      Ternus is stepping in at a time of significant turnover within the executive team, having spent the last four months appointing his own people, as reported by Kalley Huang for the New York Times. Laura Legros, a hardware engineering vice president who retired in 2022, has rejoined and reports to him, according to three insiders. Nate Gatten joined from American Airlines to manage government affairs. Additionally, Kate Adams and Apple Pay leader Jennifer Bailey are both retiring this year, with nearly half of the executive team approaching retirement.

      Talent has also been moving in the opposite direction; over 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI, according to Apple’s own lawsuit against the company. This year witnessed departures of key figures from Apple’s smart home and mixed reality hardware teams, who left for Oura and OpenAI, respectively. Reports indicated that almost all designers from the Jony Ive era at Apple’s design studio have left, and Ternus intends to rebuild that team. In August, over 200 positions were cut in Siri and Vision Pro, and on Monday,