Who can replace Tim Cook?

Longtime leaders such as John Ternus, Craig Federighi or Eddy Cue are on the list of candidates who can take over the position of Apple CEO.

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo: WSJ .

After 14 years as Apple CEO, Tim Cook turned 65 in early November, an age when many leaders are preparing to retire. Amid rumors that Cook could leave his position in 2026, the tech world has come up with names that are likely to replace him at the helm of the company.

In fact, Apple does not impose a retirement age limit on its directors, and Cook himself is not under pressure to resign. Despite the difficulties in the field of AI, Cook has still brought great value to the group of shareholders, helping the company's capitalization increase dozens of times since taking office in 2011.

According to WSJ , Chairman Art Levinson is 75 years old, the age when Apple board members usually retire. According to speculation, Cook could stay as chairman and hand over the CEO position to a new person, or hold both positions for a while. That is when Apple needs to find a worthy name for the CEO position.

John Ternus, 50 years old

Despite his youth compared to other candidates, Ternus has 24 years of experience at Apple. He was considered a strong candidate in part because he was vice president of Hardware Engineering, and Apple remains a hardware company.

Ternus was previously responsible for the development of iPads, Mac computers and AirPods before overseeing all of Apple's products, including important devices like the iPhone.

Hardware engineering is a vital part of Apple’s product development process. The design team creates the look, while the chip and software teams define the functionality. Ternus’s job is to oversee everything and make sure it all runs smoothly and efficiently.

John Ternus. Photo: 9to5Mac .

One of Ternus’s accomplishments was working with the in-house chip team to create Apple. Mac reviews have shown that the chips consume less power, perform better, and generate less heat than Intel chips. While most laptops still require fans, many Apple computers have done away with them.

Since switching to in-house chips in 2020, Mac sales have skyrocketed, thanks in part to increased demand during the pandemic as people worked from home. While they have since declined, Mac sales are still higher than they were before the pandemic.

Craig Federighi, 56 years old

Federighi is one of the most recognizable figures at Apple. As vice president of Software Engineering, he often dominates the WWDC developer conference, introducing new operating system versions, apps, and features.

At Apple, Federighi is responsible for overseeing software development, ensuring stability when running on more than a billion devices.

Craig Federighi. Photo: Bloomberg .

Some people who have worked with Federighi say he has an assertive management style, tending to gather teams around the table to discuss and agree on clear direction.

The ability to oversee software is why Federighi was put in charge of Apple’s AI division after his predecessor struggled. Analysts say it remains a major weakness, especially as Siri can only handle basic queries after 14 years, while rivals like ChatGPT increasingly communicate like humans.

Eddy Cue, 61 years old

A long-time employee, Cue has been with Apple since the late 1980s. He holds the position of Vice President of Services, the division that has been considered the most successful in the Tim Cook era. Ecosystem-based services are the reason why users find it difficult to leave Apple devices.

Not only revolving around storage capacity or listening to music, Apple also provides services for watching movies, playing games, reading newspapers, exercising ... These parts bring in huge revenue for the company, just behind important hardware products.

According to the share, Cue's personality is very sociable and open, loves sports and cars. He is also on the Ferrari board of directors.

Eddy Cue. Photo: Bloomberg .

Cue also represented Apple in negotiating deals with record labels, book publishers, movie studios, and Formula 1 racing. Over the years, he has also cleaned up and revived failures like iCloud data syncing and Apple Maps.

Cue was also very close to the late CEO Steve Jobs. In Tripp Mickle’s book, After Steve , he was one of the few Apple executives who went to his home to say goodbye the day before Jobs died. However, due to his advanced age, the possibility of Cue becoming the next CEO is not very high.

Greg "Joz" Joswiak, 61

Joswiak is nearing his 40th year at Apple. He is vice president of marketing, a division that is no less important. Like hardware, Apple is very particular about its brand identity and values, which have helped the company generate huge profits.

Joswiak is a familiar face to his partners, often appearing at iPhone launches and press tours. He also plays a big role in preparing executives’ presentations before each live event, although the events have been switched to pre-recorded since the pandemic broke out.

Greg Joswiak. Photo: WSJ .

Joswiak is also in charge of handling crises that could impact Apple's public image, most recently appearing to explain why some AI features were delayed due to incompleteness.

In an interview with WSJ in June, Joswiak and Federighi apologized to users for AI features that did not meet Apple's quality standards.

Source: https://znews.vn/ai-se-thay-the-tim-cook-post1606174.html