Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, and John Ternus will take over as the new CEO. Why him? Fresh out of the University of Pennsylvania, he started at a small company working on VR headsets. After gaining a few years of experience in VR hardware, he joined Apple, starting as a junior engineer on the product design team. From there, he steadily climbed the ranks at Apple, taking on responsibilities for hardware like iMac, iPad, AirPods, and iPhone. Eventually, he led the entire hardware engineering team. Over 25 years, he’s been involved in nearly every Apple hardware product. Cook described him as: "An engineer’s mind, an innovator’s soul, and the heart of a principled leader!" You could say Apple had no other choice—it had to be him! Cook is already 66 years old, so it’s about time for retirement. Plus, Apple has an unspoken set of criteria for choosing a CEO: • Preference for internal promotions • Age between 50-60 • Long-term tenure with the company • Familiarity with the organization, supply chain, and product ecosystem • Emphasis on stability And Ternus checks all these key boxes.