Read John Ternus' First Memo to Apple Employees as CEO

John Ternus officially became Apple's CEO today, with Tim Cook transitioning to a new role as Executive Chair. Ternus sent his first memo as CEO to employees this morning, praising Cook and sharing his excitement for Apple's future. MacRumors obtained a copy of the memo, which you can read in full below. Team, Today, on my first day as CEO, I just wanted to send a quick note to thank everyone for the warm wishes. I also want to extend my deep appreciation to Tim for sharing so much of his knowledge and experience during this transition, and more importantly, for everything he contributed to Apple over the years. We're so lucky to have had a CEO who led with his values and with such decency and humanity. We are all better for it, and I'm so grateful he'll be our executive chairman. I'm honored to be stepping into this role at what is truly the greatest company in the world, and I am so excited about everything we have in store. We have a huge launch next week that's going to be phenomenal. Thanks for everything you've all done to make it possible. I'm just as excited about what lies beyond that, including the incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven't even imagined yet that we'll dream up and create together. There's no team in the world I'd rather build the future with. More to come. In the meantime, thanks for your excellent work! John Ternus is a longtime Apple employee, having first joined the company in 2001. Prior to becoming CEO, he was senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, so he has a product-focused background instead of the operations background Cook has. Apple's leadership team has been reorganizing during the transition from Cook to Ternus, and the full effect of the changes will play out over the next several years. Johny Srouji is now Apple's chief hardware officer, taking over the Hardware Engineering team that Ternus previously led. Former engineering VP and Ternus lieutenant Laura Legros is returning to Apple, and the product design team was restructured. On his last day as CEO, Cook told employees he took "enormous comfort" in handing leadership of Apple to "someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John." Ternus has been on stage during Apple events before, but the September 9 "Surprise and Shine" iPhone event will be his first as Apple CEO. Popular StoriesPikachu Visits Apple Park, Meets Tim Cook and John TernusThursday August 27, 2026 3:10 pm PDT by Juli CloverTim Cook shared an inside look at the work he is doing behind the scenes as he prepares to step down as Apple's CEO next week. Cook has been preparing incoming CEO John Ternus for the transition over the last several months, and today he introduced Ternus to popular Pokémon character Pikachu. Cook said he and Ternus met with the Pokémon team to talk gaming. The accompanying video features...John Ternus is Now Apple's CEOTuesday September 1, 2026 7:23 am PDT by Joe RossignolApple's former hardware engineering chief John Ternus officially became CEO of the company today, with the change now reflected on Apple's leadership page. Ternus joined Apple in 2001, became a vice president of hardware engineering in 2013, and became senior vice president of hardware engineering in 2021. He is 51, so he could serve as CEO for 10 to 15 years before reaching typical...Apple Teases 'Huge Launch' Next WeekTuesday September 1, 2026 11:03 am PDT by Joe RossignolIn his first memo to Apple employees as CEO today, John Ternus teased a "huge launch next week that's going to be phenomenal." In a social media post today, Apple's marketing chief Greg Joswiak teased that Apple has "more to say" on Wednesday, September 9, which is when the company will be holding its next special event, starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. Hello, indeed. More to say ...