There’s no doubt that Cook has had an incredibly strong 14-year run, taking Apple to an impressive valuation above $4 trillion and turning the company into an even more powerful global force. 🚀 Honestly, it would make Steve Jobs proud.

Despite being very much active in his role, a recent report from the Financial Times suggested that Apple is already considering potential successors. Maybe it’s serious, maybe it’s just long-term planning… but with Cook now 65, the discussion isn’t exactly surprising. 🤷‍♂️

According to gossip, John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, is currently the leading contender. 

For a while, many assumed the role would eventually go to Jeff Williams, Apple’s former COO and one of Cook’s closest operational partners, but his recent retirement officially takes him out of the race.

And so the spotlight now shifts to Ternus — a quiet but influential figure who has overseen the development of Apple’s most important hardware updates in recent years. 💻 

If he takes the throne, he could mark a new era where Apple leans even further into engineering innovation. And given how much the company has evolved under Cook, the next CEO will definitely shape the direction Apple goes for the decade ahead.