By Stephen Nellis
SAN FRANCISCO, April 20 (Reuters) – Apple on Monday named insider John Ternus as its next CEO, tapping the long-time hardware chief to steer the company after Tim Cook as the iPhone maker gears up for an industry change spurred by artificial intelligence.
Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001 and has been a quiet but steadfast behind-the-scenes presence in improving its products over the years, has played a key role in reigniting sales of products such as Apple’s Mac computers, which have gained market share against PCs.
At 50, Ternus is the same age Cook was when he took over CEO duties from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. He most recently showed the company’s iPhone Air last autumn, the biggest revamp of the iPhone since 2017 and a key proving ground for several new chips.
Despite his low external profile, Ternus has helped bring about now ubiquitous products such as iPads and AirPods. He will be tasked with helping Apple navigate a technology landscape upended by AI, after losing its crown as the world’s most valuable company to Nvidia.
He has also helped sharpen the distinctions among Apple’s product lines, by introducing “Pro” models of Macs and iPhones that pushed their technological capabilities and prices to new heights, while also introducing offerings such as the MacBook Neo and iPhone “e” models at some of Apple’s lowest-ever prices.
Ternus will have to fend off Nvidia, which has announced its own personal computer and is working on chips that can power laptops, as well as rivals such as Meta Platforms, whose augmented-reality glasses have become a surprise hit with just a fraction of the capabilities – and price tag – of Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
“The promotion of Mr. Ternus indicates the company will focus on new hardware devices such as folding phones, glasses, VR devices and AI pins,” said Gil Luria, managing director of D.A. Davidson & Co.
Perhaps the biggest challenge Ternus will face is how to integrate AI into the iPhone — the most successful consumer product in history — and the rest of Apple’s lineup. Earlier this year, Apple struck a deal with longtime rival in smartphones, Alphabet’s Google, to use Google’s Gemini in an effort to improve its Siri virtual assistant.
Despite introducing a form of artificial intelligence to the public imagination in 2011 with Siri, Apple has not yet scored a hardware or software product hit centered on new AI technologies, while emerging rivals such as OpenAI have attracted hundreds of millions of users.
“I expect his biggest challenge and efforts will be focused on getting a better AI story and offering together that relies more on Apple’s own capabilities and less on third parties,” said Bob O’Donnell, head of tech consulting firm TECHAnalysis Research.
COOK OVERSAW HISTORIC GROWTH
Cook will become the company’s executive chairman, Apple said in a statement. Apple stock has soared twenty-fold since Cook took over as CEO in August 2011.
Cook was recruited by Jobs from Compaq at a time when that firm was riding high on the 1990s PC boom and Jobs was working to rescue Apple from the brink of insolvency.
While Cook made his early reputation at Apple by building out its sprawling supply chain in China, over the years he became a celebrity CEO in his own right. He was the first Fortune 500 CEO to come out as gay in 2014 and took public stances on issues such as workplace diversity and corporate sustainability.
Cook, who presented a custom golden plaque to U.S. President Donald Trump, will also continue to engage with policymakers, the company said.
In naming Ternus chief executive, Apple is shifting from a supply-chain guru who helped turn Apple into a global brand that churns out hundreds of millions of units per year, to a leader who has long focused on design and products.
Ben Bajarin, CEO of technology consulting firm Creative Strategies, said Ternus is well-liked within Apple “and will bring fresh energy.”
Separately, Apple said that Johny Srouji, who has overseen Apple’s custom chip and sensor designs, has been named chief hardware officer. Srouji will continue to oversee that group, along with the hardware engineering group that Ternus once led that will now be overseen by Tom Merieb.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Additional reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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