After 15 years at the helm, Tim Cook will pass the torch to Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus. Joining the company in 2001 as a product design intern, Ternus has spent nearly half his life with Apple, climbing through the ranks and overseeing key projects like AirPods and the Vision Pro.

Reflecting on his time at Apple during a commencement speech, Ternus advised: 'Always assume you’re as smart as anyone else in the room, but never assume that you know as much as they do.' This ethos seems to inform his approach to leadership. As CEO, he’ll face challenges ranging from the AI race to the Vision Pro’s underlying tech.

Notably, Ternus has maintained a low profile outside of Apple. He was on Penn’s swim team and built a feeding arm for quadriplegics as part of his senior project. A $2,900 donation to Senator Chuck Schumer in 2021 is the closest he’s come to broader political engagement.

With Ternus at the helm, Apple faces a pivotal moment: can it maintain its lead in hardware while navigating the complex landscape of AI and other emerging technologies?