Apple CEO Tim Cook has been the head of Apple for over a decade but time is nearing when he’ll have to step down and the next potential candidate for the role is already being considered at the company. As per a new development, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, is at the top of the list of people being considered for the position.
As per Bloomberg, there’s “no reason to assume that a change at the helm is imminent,” but there are multiple possibilities as to who could eventually take over and Ternus seems to be the ideal candidate. Based on conversations with “several people familiar with Apple’s inner workings,” if the change were to happen soon, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams would almost certainly be appointed as CEO.
However, the issue is that “Williams, who’s 61 this year, is only two years Cook’s junior, and company insiders say they think it’s now unlikely he’ll be the new long-term chief. Apple’s board would probably want an executive who, like Cook and Jobs, would stick around for at least a decade. “If you asked me five years ago, it was very clear Jeff was leading the pack to become CEO,” says one longtime Apple executive. “But the slowness to refresh the C-suite leaves a problem with who you can bring on board”, read the report.
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As per the executives, Cook will likely serve as Apple CEO for at least another 3 years but post that, 49-year old Turner would likely take over the position. He’s reportedly “well-liked inside Apple” and has “earned respect of Cook, Williams and other leaders.” “Tim likes him a lot, because he can give a good presentation, he’s very mild-mannered, never puts anything into an email that is controversial and is a very reticent decision-maker,” says one person close to Apple’s executive team. “He has a lot of managerial characteristics like Tim.”
It’s clear that Apple wants someone as CEO for the long term and with Tim Cook approaching the end of his term, someone much younger than him would be apt as a replacement. Other well-liked executives at Apple, like Craig Federighi and Deirdre O’Brien are “unlikely successors” to Cook and others such as Phil Schiller and hardware chief Dan Riccio “are at the end of their tenures” at Apple, claims the report.