The latest revelation of Apple's CEO successor! The dark horse appeared, 15 years younger than Cook and 23 years after joining Apple

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2024-05-11 12:00Posted on the official account of Beijing Zhidong

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Zhidong reported on May 11 that Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman (Mark Gurman) recently published an article analyzing who is likely to succeed Tim Cook as Apple's next CEO in the future. According to multiple sources, John Ternus, the head of hardware engineering, has become the most potential candidate for the next CEO.

According to Gurman's analysis, Tenus's ability to work is recognized within Apple and can stay in office for a longer period of time, and Apple seems to be interested in training Tenus in this area.

First, Cook needs a successor, and the development of major products has become the biggest challenge for the successor

Since succeeding Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011, Mr. Cook has revolutionized Apple's image, launching new products like smartwatches, entering the streaming video business and making bold attempts to mainstream new types of computational mixed reality. He's been in office for far more than the average Fortune 500 CEO has been in office, and at 64, he's older than many of his peers.

However, if Apple needs another person to start a new chapter, the situation becomes complicated, as Apple currently lacks someone who can be ready both immediately and a long-term successor.

Since taking office, Mr. Cook has not made much change to Apple's executive team, which is largely made up of close colleagues who worked with Mr. Cook during the Steve Jobs era. With the exception of the high-profile exit of designer Jony Ive and the departure of head of retail, Angela, the team has remained largely intact over the past decade, with key figures all long enough and wealthy enough to retire a few years ago.

At the moment, Apple still has a lot to work out. It is under regulatory scrutiny in the US and EU and is trying to stop its $20 billion annual App Store from falling apart. In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Apple to sell its electronic products in China, and it is also necessary to consider how to gradually withdraw Apple's production lines from China. After Apple unveiled the Vision Pro and abandoned the electric car, the development of the next major product could be a decisive challenge for the successor.

▲去年九月，库克在众议院外（图源：Jabin Botsford/华盛顿邮报/Getty Images）

Last November, Cook commented on succession issues in a lengthy interview with singer Dua Lipa's At Your Service podcast. "My job is to build the capacity of some people to succeed, and I really want that person to come from within Apple to make sure that there are a few people for the board to pick from," Cook said. He did not say who the men were, but called the company's plans "very detailed."

Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein, has been following Apple's situation for two decades. He mentioned that succession has become a topic of discussion for investors, and that Apple's next leader does not have too much transparency and exposure, which raises questions about whether Apple has a comprehensive and well-thought-out succession plan.

Second, the COO was once considered the leading candidate, but there was no age advantage

Recently, several people familiar with Apple's inner workings spoke to Bloomberg Businessweek about the topic and asked to be published anonymously. If Cook resigns soon, there is a good chance that Jeff Williams, the chief operating officer, who has been the top candidate for Mr. Cook's successor a few years ago, will take his place, the people said. In 2015, Cook appointed Williams as Apple's chief operating officer, and in the same year, Williams brought to market the Apple Watch, the first major new product of the Cook era. Four years later, he took on the role of head of hardware and software design.

▲Williams chatting with customers in a store in Palo Alto, California (Source: Bloomberg)

But Mr. Williams, who is 61 years old this year, is only two years younger than Mr. Cook, and company insiders believe that Mr. Williams is unlikely to become the new long-term CEO now, and that Apple's board may want an executive like Mr. Cook and Mr. Jobs who can stay on for at least a decade. "If you had asked me five years ago, there was no doubt that Williams would have been the most likely CEO, but the slow pace of executive updates led to a problem: anyone can join," said a longtime Apple executive. ”

However, there is also no reason to think that a change at the helm of Apple is imminent. Cook may be older than the CEOs of other tech companies in the Fortune 500, but he's not the oldest of them. One person who knows Cook said: "If Trump or Biden can become president at 80, Cook can continue to be CEO at Apple." In the past, CEOs would leave their jobs at the age of 65, but the world has changed. ”

3. The hardware director can stay in office for a longer period of time, or become the best candidate for Apple's next CEO

While Mr. Cook has not said how long he will remain at the helm of Apple, people close to him believe he will serve as CEO for at least another three years. They say Cook will later set up a charitable foundation to donate the wealth he has amassed at Apple.

Apple insiders say that if Cook stays in office for that long, the most likely successor will be Tenus the head of hardware engineering. In a company that is committed to creating category-defining products, it seems logical that a hardware engineering expert would be promoted to the CEO role. Tenus is also less than 50 years old and is more likely than the rest of the executive team to stay on for a long time, offering a decade or more.

Tenus was also popular within Apple, earning the respect of Cook, Williams, and other leaders. A person close to Apple's executive team said: "Tim likes him because he can make good presentations, he has a very gentle demeanor, he never adds anything controversial to his emails, and he is a very taciturn decision-maker who has a lot of management traits like Cook." ”

Christopher Stringer, Apple's former top hardware designer, also called Tenus a "trustworthy man" who never failed in any of his promotions. Eddy Cue, an Apple executive known as Cook's closest confidant, also privately told colleagues that Turners should be the next CEO, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple has also made Tenus a growing face for new products. He led the launch of the new iPad Pro and iPad Air, and was responsible for the iPad launch on May 7. Last year, he visited Europe to discuss the company's environmental initiatives. But what made Tenus even more prominent was a television interview about chips in December, in which a longtime Apple executive said: "They let him talk on morning TV about things that don't fall under his jurisdiction, and he gave the impression of being like the chairman." ”

▲特努斯在2022年苹果开发者大会上（图源：Christoph Dernbach/picture alliance/Getty Images）

According to Apple's official website, Tenus graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in mechanical engineering, and before joining Apple, Tenus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems.

Tenus joined Apple's product design team in 2001 and initially focused on external Mac displays. In Jobs' heyday, Tenus was too junior to interact directly with the co-founder. For more than two decades, he gradually took responsibility for the entire iPad family, followed by Macs, AirPods, and the iPhone in 2020, and in 2021, he was appointed to the top position in hardware. Recently, the Apple Watch hardware engineering team began reporting to Tenus instead of Williams.

In addition, Tenus has helped the hardware and software teams work more closely together to implement new technologies such as the OLED screen in the iPad. He is said to have bypassed middle management directly and was actively involved in product development, solving problems with individual engineers. A former VP of hardware engineering who works directly with Tenus said, "I think he's very good at what he does and a decent guy." "I can't say anything to every single executive out there, many of whom like to emulate Steve Jobs to a greater or lesser extent," he said. ”

Fourth, they did not participate in the core initiatives of major products, and were questioned for not being bold enough and manipulating politics

Tenus, as a candidate for CEO succession, has also faced some opposition. Some Apple employees say he's a political manipulator who isn't respected by some of the company's top engineers, and they say he doesn't focus on future bets, doesn't make bold technology acquisitions, and doesn't allow himself to be an innovator. Skeptics also point out that Tenus is not at the heart of many of Apple's major product initiatives in recent years. For example, he was only involved in the subsequent development of the Apple Watch and did not make enough efforts for the company's smart home strategy. Apple's recent foray into personal robotics was not conceived by Tenus but by other executives. While Tenus led Apple in integrating its own chips into Mac computers, company executives said the decision to abandon Intel's chips may have happened years earlier.

On top of that, Tenus has limited involvement in two of Apple's most ambitious recent projects: Vision Pro and self-driving cars. The car project has failed, and the Vision Pro has yet to prove whether it can propel Apple into the future, so it's unclear whether Tenus's involvement in these two projects will damage or benefit his reputation over time. He also had his share of missteps, and after taking over the Mac's signature feature, the Touch Bar (the touchscreen display above the MacBook Pro's keyboard), it was discontinued five years later due to a poor customer response.

A person close to Apple said: "Tenus is a great guy, but honestly he's still young. He gives the impression of just a member of the room, not an elegant executive or leader. As the CEO of a multi-trillion-dollar company, it's best to be in the room. The fundamental question, according to another person familiar with the matter, is whether Tenus is ready to take over the position after Cook steps down.

Other possible candidates for succession include Craig Federighi, the head of software engineering, and Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's head of retail and a close friend of Cook's. But one former executive thinks they are unlikely to be a successor.

▲Retail supervisor O'Brien (left) and software engineering supervisor Federigi (Source: Getty Images)

Conclusion: Apple's top management may face huge changes in the coming years

In addition to the CEO change, Apple will face frequent management changes in the coming years. Veterans such as former hardware executive Dan Riccio and former marketing executive Phil Schiller are coming to an end, and other high-profile Apple executives have been preparing for eventual retirement, according to people familiar with the matter. One longtime executive said, "One day, I don't know when, all these people have to leave, and then there's going to be a big vacuum." ”

While Apple's next CEO is likely to be on the current executive team, some skeptical insiders say the best way for Apple to maintain its edge is to consider an outsider. A person inside Apple said: "The only way they can avoid becoming an IBM-like company is if someone comes up with a truly revolutionary new idea." "But that scenario is almost impossible. Another longtime Apple leader also said that the company often struggles to integrate external executive talent, and that the next CEO will be an insider.

Source: Bloomberg

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