It may not be easy to put yourself in Tim Cook’s shoes, replacing at the helm of the Apple empire the man who has managed to turn the group into a technological giant and an iconic global brand. But some incentives help a lot to get through the tough moment. John Ternus, the new CEO since this week, will receive an annual remuneration of 58 million dollars, including salary and company stock payments, while Cook, now the company’s executive chairman, will earn about 47 million dollars.
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Tim Cook’s successor is an engineer who has contributed to developing the iPhone, the company’s flagship product
After 15 years of Tim Cook’s reign, Ternus takes the reins of Apple in a very precise transition process to avoid shocks in a consolidated group that now faces the launch of new products, the challenge of artificial intelligence, and rising geopolitical tensions. The first challenge is just around the corner: on September 9, Apple will present its first foldable iPhone, nine years after the one originally presented by the Korean Samsung. It will be the baptism by fire for John Ternus, a 51-year-old engineer who has worked at the Apple brand since 2001 and is very product-oriented, unlike Cook, who built his reputation as an executive based on his skill in logistical and diplomatic management.
Ternus also comes with a solid career developed step by step at Apple, where he had reached the vice presidency of physical product engineering. Throughout that career, the new CEO has played a decisive role in the design of iPhone models, which have become the group’s most iconic product, selling 250 million units worldwide last year. The idea is that the tandem designed with Cook from now on will allow him to focus on operations and product development, while the executive chairman manages political affairs, one of his strengths, navigating pressures from the governments of the United States and China, the country where most of Apple’s production is concentrated.
Salaries on the rise
John Ternus, the new CEO, will earn 58 million dollars a year, while Tim Cook, now executive chairman, will receive 47 million
The market expects John Ternus to write Apple’s AI chapter, making progress in an area where the company is far behind its competitors among the major North American tech companies. Some analysts have even questioned the opportunity to choose a profile with little or no expertise in the new technological revolution to lead the company. But if anything defines Apple, it is its products, from the iPhone to the Mac. And in the smartphone market, for now, no group has managed to turn AI functionalities into a decisive selling point. Consumers continue to buy the physical product, and there the iPhone remains king. Cook himself reinforced this idea this week by emphasizing that “few understand what it takes to create world-changing products like John does,” in his farewell letter to employees as CEO.
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In addition to updating existing products such as the iPhone, Apple Watch, or AirPods, the company will introduce a foldable iPhone to the market starting next week, a significant development for a brand that has not succeeded in launching a new product line in the last ten years. The launch of connected glasses and AirPods equipped with cameras to take advantage of new AI capabilities, among other products, is also expected later.
“Never ask yourself what I would do, just do the right thing.” This is the advice legendary Steve Jobs, Apple’s founder, gave Tim Cook when he passed the company baton to him in August 2011. Fifteen years later, Apple’s shares have skyrocketed 2,275%, reaching a market capitalization of 4.6 trillion dollars, and the company not only sells products but also financial services. Against the powerful innovation of a genius like Jobs, Cook has been the logistics genius, who has managed to turn Apple’s supply chain into the envy of any manufacturer. His management at the helm of the company scaled sales from 108 billion dollars in 2011 to 416 billion in the last fiscal year, while profits have more than quadrupled to 112 billion.
Challenges
The first challenge is just around the corner with the launch of the foldable iPhone next week
A combination of those two souls of Apple, innovation and brilliant management, would be the ideal many aspire to for the Ternus period. “Just do the right thing, don’t ask what I would do” is the advice from Jobs that Cook has now repeated to him.
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