How Difficult Is Succession in a Golden Era? Three Major Challenges for Apple's New CEO

The most anticipated leadership transition in Apple's history has officially concluded, but the challenges facing the successor are far more complex than imagined.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, on Monday, Apple announced that John Ternus, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, will succeed Tim Cook as Chief Executive Officer on September 1. Cook will transition to Executive Chairman, continuing to manage Apple's relationships with global policymakers.

On April 21, tech media outlet The Information reported that this choice had been circulating in Silicon Valley for some time, yet its confirmation did not alleviate external concerns about Apple's future direction. Amidst multiple pressures including an intensifying AI race, accumulating supply chain risks, and the former leader still deeply involved in company affairs, Ternus's path to succession is destined to be uneven.

Reports indicate that Ternus will face three core challenges: first, whether Apple can complete its self-reinvention in the AI era to catch up with competitors; second, amidst escalating geopolitical tensions, whether Apple can effectively reduce its reliance on manufacturing in a single region before a crisis erupts; third, with Cook remaining as Executive Chairman, historical precedents show such arrangements often lead to power friction—can Apple avoid repeating history? These three tests will collectively evaluate whether this hardware engineer can assume the role of helmsman for one of the world's most valuable technology companies.

Ben Bajarin, CEO of consumer research firm Creative Strategies, expressed a positive view on this choice. "Ternus is the right person at the right time," he stated, emphasizing that "Apple plans to significantly increase new product launches in the coming years, hoping to leverage both old and new products to kickstart a new growth cycle."

Chris Deaver, former Head of Human Resources at Apple and co-founder of consulting firm BraveCore, also noted that "Ternus excels at building deep cross-departmental collaborations within Apple, extending beyond hardware and products to include software and operations, earning trust from other teams."

AI Reinvention: Apple's Most Urgent Self-Rescue Mission

Reports suggest that Apple's lag in the AI field has become market consensus, and the first challenge for Ternus is how to reverse this situation.

Apple's promised new version of Siri has been delayed since its announcement in 2024 and remains unlaunched. According to The Information, Apple plans to release a version at the Worldwide Developers Conference typically held in June, but significant work remains. To address deep-rooted issues in Siri development, Apple has reorganized its AI team multiple times—last year transferring Siri from former AI head John Giannandrea to software chief Craig Federighi, and last week adjusting again by sending part of the Siri team into an AI programming boot camp.

The delay in AI software is not merely a product-level issue but directly constrains Apple's layout in new hardware categories. As previously reported by The Information, Apple is developing new hardware for home scenarios and a wearable pin device, both relying heavily on AI assistants for core interaction. If AI capabilities cannot keep pace, the competitiveness of these new hardware products will be significantly diminished.

Meanwhile, competitors are accelerating their encroachment on Apple's hardware moat. According to prior reports from The Information, OpenAI is collaborating with former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive to develop AI devices and aggressively poaching talent from Apple's hardware team. The strategic question Ternus must answer is: To what extent should Apple stick to its smartphone business, and which hardware categories that could become new entry points for AI access deserve resource investment?

Reliance on a Single Region: Unresolved Supply Chain Risks

Reports indicate that reducing reliance on a single region is a historical legacy issue that Cook failed to fully resolve during his tenure, now falling on Ternus's shoulders.

Supply chain disruptions during the pandemic fully exposed the risks of over-reliance on a single region. While Cook's experience in government relations will remain important on this front, Ternus will ultimately need to independently lead this strategic transformation. Completing substantial supply chain restructuring before a real crisis arrives will be a dual test of his strategic vision and execution capabilities.

Geopolitical pressures are tightening from two directions simultaneously. Externally, trade tensions persist. Internally, the Trump administration continues to pressure Apple to relocate manufacturing back to the US. Apple has paid approximately $3.3 billion in tariffs over the past three quarters, while Cook sought to ease tensions by committing to invest $500 billion in the US over the next four years.

Power Transition: Do Too Many Chefs Spoil the Broth?

Reports suggest that Cook's retention arrangement, while providing support for Ternus, has also planted seeds for potential power friction.

According to Apple's announcement, Cook will continue to "assist with specific company matters, including communication with global policymakers" in his capacity as Executive Chairman. From a division-of-labor logic, this arrangement has its rationale: Cook handles external affairs like White House visits and government-business relations, while Ternus focuses on products and business. Their backgrounds complement each other—one operations-oriented, the other product-focused—and theoretically, there is limited scope for friction.

However, historical cases where former CEOs remained as Executive Chairs have not always ended optimally. Microsoft's former CEO Steve Ballmer faced frequent intervention and constraints from Bill Gates, who transitioned to Chief Software Architect, during the first year. Disney's Bob Iger handed the CEO role to Bob Chapek in 2020 while remaining as Executive Chairman, maintaining close ties with the board and executives even after stepping down; following Chapek's unsuccessful tenure, Iger reclaimed the CEO position in 2022.

Reports note that a relatively successful precedent comes from Amazon—after Bezos transitioned to Executive Chairman in 2021 and Andy Jassy succeeded him as CEO, the power transfer has operated relatively smoothly thus far. This may be the script Ternus hopes to replicate most. However, the ultimate outcome will largely depend on how much space Cook is willing to give his successor, and whether this Executive Chairman can restrain the impulse to step in personally when Apple truly faces a crisis.