Tim Cook
Apple's executive chairman since September 2026; chief executive from 2011 to 2026.
Tim Cook has been Apple's executive chairman since 1 September 2026, when John Ternus replaced him as chief executive under a succession plan Apple published on 20 April.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What does Tim Cook do now as Apple's executive chairman?
Timeline for Tim Cook
Announced his departure from Apple on the Q2 FY2026 earnings call
AI: Jobs, Power & Money: Apple R&D up 33% after Tim Cook announces exitBackground
Tim Cook led Apple as chief executive from August 2011, when he succeeded Steve Jobs, until the end of August 2026. Apple set out the handover in a press release on 20 April 2026: John Ternus, its head of hardware engineering, would take charge on 1 September, and Cook would move to executive chairman. Second-quarter results released ten days later, on 30 April, showed revenue of $111.2bn, up 17%, with research and development spending up 33% to $11.4bn.
Cook joined Apple in 1998 as senior vice president for worldwide operations and built the supply chain that became one of its main advantages. As chief executive he oversaw the launches of Apple Watch and AirPods, the switch to Apple Silicon chips and the growth of services such as the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud and Apple TV+. Apple became the first company to reach a $3 trillion market value while he ran it, and in April 2026 the company put the climb in its value under Cook at about $350bn to roughly $4 trillion.
As executive chairman, Cook keeps a seat at the top of Apple's board while Ternus runs the business and inherits the enlarged research budget.