Tim Cook’s 15-year Apple CEO stint comes to an end:From supply-chain expert to tech giant’s longtime leader, is he completely leaving?

For more than a decade, Tim Cook has steered Apple after Steve Jobs. He took charge when the company was already a technology giant, but over the next 15 years, he helped turn it into an even bigger, more diversified business. Cook did not create the iPhone or the Mac. Instead, his biggest achievement was building on Jobs’ foundation, expanding Apple’s services, growing its wearables business, strengthening its supply chain, and taking Apple into new product categories. Now, that chapter is coming to an end. Apple reportedly hosted a farewell celebration for Tim Cook at Apple Park in Cupertino on August 23, just days before he completes 15 years as CEO. Around 200 employees attended the event to celebrate Cook’s long tenure and the impact he has had on the company. So let’s take a look at how Tim Cook went from a supply-chain expert to the person who led Apple for 15 years. Tim Cook joined Apple in 1998 Tim Cook joined Apple in March 1998 as senior vice president of Operations. Before Apple, Cook had spent 12 years at IBM and later worked at Intelligent Electronics and Compaq. His experience was largely in operations, manufacturing, and supply-chain management, areas that would later become one of his biggest strengths at Apple. At the time Cook joined, Apple was going through a difficult period. Steve Jobs had returned to the company in 1997 and was working to simplify Apple’s product lineup and bring the company back to profitability. Cook’s job was to make Apple’s operations more efficient. He reportedly pushed Apple towards a leaner supply chain, reducing inventory and improving the way the company managed manufacturing and suppliers. How Steve Jobs backed Tim Cook Cook’s relationship with Jobs became increasingly important as Apple grew. In 2002, Cook was promoted to executive vice president of Worldwide Sales and Operations. His responsibilities later expanded to include Apple’s Mac division. In 2005, Jobs officially appointed Cook as Apple’s chief operating officer. At the time, Jobs said: Tim has been doing this job for over two years now, and it’s high time we officially recognized it with this promotion. Jobs also said he had worked with Cook for more than seven years and looked forward to working even more closely with him. Cook wasn’t the designer or public face of Apple. His strength was making sure the machine behind Apple’s products worked efficiently. Also read: Apple confirms ‘Surprise and Shine’ event for September 9: It’s that time of the year as tech giant expected to launch foldable iPhone and iPhone 18 series

Cook became CEO after Steve Jobs The biggest turning point came in 2011. Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO on August 24, 2011, after his health had deteriorated. Jobs himself strongly recommended that Apple follow its succession plan and appoint Cook as his successor. In his resignation letter, Jobs wrote: I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple. Apple’s board then named Cook CEO. Jobs died only a few weeks later, in October 2011. This meant Cook had to lead Apple without the person who had become synonymous with the company. That was one of the biggest tests of his career. Cook’s biggest achievement: Making Apple much bigger Cook inherited a company that was already hugely successful. Apple’s annual revenue grew from about $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to more than $416 billion in fiscal 2025. Its market capitalisation increased from roughly $350 billion to $4 trillion, according to Apple. The Apple silicon transformation Another major part of Cook’s legacy is Apple’s move towards designing its own chips. Apple began moving Macs from Intel processors to its own Apple silicon in 2020. The move gave Apple greater control over the hardware and software inside its devices and helped improve performance and power efficiency. It also strengthened Apple’s ability to design products around its own technology rather than depending as heavily on outside chipmakers.
But Cook’s legacy is not without criticism For all of Apple’s financial success, Cook’s era has also faced criticism. One of the biggest questions is innovation. Jobs was known for introducing products that created or transformed entire markets. Cook’s Apple has launched important products, but none has had the same immediate impact as the iPhone. The Vision Pro, for example, represents Apple’s attempt to create a new computing platform, but it remains far from becoming another iPhone-sized business. This leads to a bigger question: Can Apple still create the next product that changes the technology industry? Also read: WhatsApp adds new security features to protect users from scams: Unknown callers will show more details, while users can now add multiple passkeys

The biggest unfinished chapter: AI AI could become the most important test of Cook’s legacy. Apple has been slower than several rivals to make generative AI a central part of its products. The company has been working to bring more AI capabilities to Siri and its devices, while also relying on partnerships and outside technology in some areas. Apple introduced its new Siri AI at WWDC26, showing that AI remains a major focus as Cook’s tenure comes to an end. The challenge for Apple’s next CEO will be bigger than simply adding AI features to the iPhone. Why is Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO? Apple has not presented Cook’s departure as a sudden resignation or crisis. Instead, the company has described it as part of a long-term succession plan. Apple announced in April 2026 that Cook would become executive chairman and John Ternus would become CEO on September 1, 2026. The board approved the transition unanimously. Cook will complete 15 years as CEO before handing over the top job. At 65, the move also marks a natural leadership transition after one of the longest CEO tenures in Apple’s modern history. Is Tim Cook completely leaving Apple? This is an important distinction. Cook will stop being CEO, but he will remain closely connected to Apple as executive chairman of the board. Apple says he will continue to help with certain areas of the company, including engagement with policymakers around the world. So, September 1 will not be a complete goodbye. It is a change in role. Who is John Ternus? John Ternus is not an outsider coming into Apple. He joined the company in 2001 and has spent more than two decades working on Apple’s hardware. Ternus joined Apple’s Product Design team and later became vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013. He has worked on products including the iPad, iPhone and AirPods and played an important role in Apple’s transition to Apple silicon. Since 2021, he has led Apple’s Hardware Engineering organisation as senior vice president.
John Ternus will have barely a week to settle into his new role as Apple CEO before facing his first major test. He takes over from Tim Cook on September 1, while Apple’s next major iPhone event is scheduled for September 9. The event will mark Ternus’ first major product launch as CEO, putting him in the spotlight almost immediately after taking charge. Also read: Is your Android phone battery draining too fast?: Understand what is consuming battery so quickly and 8 simple ways to make it last longer

What comes next for Apple? Apple enters the Ternus era from a position of enormous strength. The company has more than 2.5 billion active devices, a Services business worth more than $100 billion annually, and annual revenue of more than $416 billion. Its latest quarter alone generated $109.4 billion in revenue. But the technology industry is changing quickly. And Apple needs to answer a question that has followed the company since Jobs’ death: What comes after the iPhone? Tim Cook’s legacy Tim Cook did not have to be Steve Jobs. Instead, he built an Apple that was bigger, richer, more diversified, and more globally powerful than the company he inherited. His greatest achievement may not be a single product. It may be the transformation of Apple from a company heavily defined by the iPhone into an ecosystem spanning hardware, software, services, wearables, and chips. Now, John Ternus inherits that machine. And his biggest job will be to show that Apple can still invent the future, not just improve it.