APPLE'S NEXT (POTENTIAL) CEO

John Ternus could become the next CEO of Apple. Apple intensifies succession planning for CEO Tim Cook. So Apple started accelerating its succession planning last year, 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. And Tim Cook has told senior leaders that he's tired and wants to reduce his workload. Cook is 65 years old, and if he steps down, he's most likely to become the chairman of Apple's board. And so far, Ternus has emerged as the frontrunner to replace him, according to people that are close to the company. For context, Ternus is Apple's head of hardware engineering, and he's 50 years old, which is the same age that Cook was when he took over from Steve Jobs back in 2011. And like Cook, he's known for his attention to detail and deep knowledge of Apple's supply chain. Ternus joined Apple in 2001 and became a key lieutenant under Dan Riccio, who was his predecessor as hardware chief. He's spearheaded the iPhone Air's slim redesign last year and also led Apple's transition away from Intel chips to its own silicon in 2020. And on top of that, 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. He's been involved in Apple's experimentation with foldable phones. Ternus is known for his expertise as an engineer, having worked on many of Apple's devices although he is known more for maintaining products than innovating. Ternus has only limited exposure to dealing with political and policy issues that come with CEO role. But the big question here is whether Apple needs another careful operator or an actual innovator. Under Tim Cook, Apple became more predictable and incremental, hasn't really launched a successful new product category in a decade. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI, tens of billions of dollars on AI, while Apple is still largely perceived to be on the sidelines. And one former employee put it pretty bluntly, to make an iPhone every year, Ternus is your guy. In other words, he's a world-class executor, but it's unclear whether he'd push Apple into entirely new territory. And there are other potential successors to Cook, but Ternus has the inside track, and Apple's board will ultimately decide whether its next decade looks more like Tim Cook's or more like Steve Jobs's.