Tim Cook steps down as CEO of Apple

· UPI

April 20 (UPI) -- Apple announced Monday that Tim Cook has decided to step down as CEO and that John Ternus, the company's senior vice president of hardware engineering, will take the role over later this year.

As of Sept. 1, Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors, though he will remain involved with certain aspects of actually running the company.

Cook, who has been CEO of Apple for the last 15 years -- he took over for Steve Jobs in August 2011 when the Apple co-founder resigned amid his battle a years-long cancer battle -- strongly expressed his support for the selection of Ternus to lead the company.

"It has been the greatest privilege of my life to the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company," Cook said in an Apple press release. "I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of ... people who have been unwavering in their dedication."

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"John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator and the heart to lead with integrity and honor ... I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character," Cook said.

Cook started working for Apple in 1998 and, after taking over for Jobs, launched a host of products and services that have helped grown Apple's market capitalization by more than 1,000%, from $350 billion to $4 trillion.

Ternus joined Apple in 2001 as part of its product design team, becoming vice president of hardware engineering in 2013 and rising to become senior vice president of the division in 2021.