Financial Times reports Apple is advancing CEO succession plans, with Tim Cook's exit possible next year. Timeline isn't final; John Ternus is a top pick.
© A. Krivonosov
According to the Financial Times, Apple has stepped up preparations for a potential exit of Tim Cook from the CEO role—a move that could come as soon as next year. The board and senior leadership are said to be actively working on succession planning. For a company of Apple’s scale, planning ahead is expected; still, the timing is notable.
While a new leader is unlikely to be announced before the late-January earnings report, the source indicates that an early heads-up next year would give Apple more runway for a smooth handover ahead of WWDC in June and the fall iPhone launch. FT also reports that no final decision has been made and the timeline could shift. That caveat leaves Apple room to adjust the pace if needed.
Tim Cook has been CEO since August 2011. He turned 65 this year—an age often viewed in the United States as appropriate for retirement—yet he has not publicly discussed plans to step down. Analysts often point to John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, as a likely successor. With the company since 2001 and, at 50, among the younger top executives, he is seen as capable of providing long-term leadership. His long tenure and current remit make him a plausible internal candidate.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has voiced skepticism that Cook’s departure is imminent, noting he sees no signs of near-term change. At the same time, sources stress that the succession talk is not tied to business performance. Apple closed the September quarter with record revenue, expects the strongest December quarter in its history, and its shares are trading near record levels. Taken together, this looks like contingency planning while the business is humming.