Apple chairman Tim Cook: “I don’t interfere with Ternus”

A month after the CEO transition, Tim Cook says that, as executive chairman, he handles governments and politics and leaves day-to-day operations to John Ternus.

A month after the change at the top of Apple, Tim Cook speaks at length for the first time about his new role. The executive chairman handles governments and politics, while John Ternus runs day-to-day operations. His most important advice to his successor: don’t copy him.

Jan Gruber (translated by Jan Gruber), Published 10/09/2026 🇩🇪

Apple Business

What does a former Apple boss actually do while his successor tackles his first major year of product launches? Tim Cook has now given a clear answer, and it boils down to one statement: “I don’t interfere. I’m not someone who interferes.” The current executive chairman said this in an interview with The Independent this week, conducted at Apple’s London headquarters in Battersea Power Station.

The occasion for the visit was an expanded partnership with The King's Trust, King Charles III’s youth charity. The king also came to Battersea for the occasion. Under the name Apple x King's Trust Creative Labs, Apple is offering young people aged 18 to 30 workshops with its own in-house experts. The first group includes up to 20 participants, with more set to follow over the course of next year.

More interesting than the occasion, however, is what Cook says about the transition itself. The handover to John Ternus “actually began years ago,” he says. Apple wanted to deliver the best leadership transition ever—a textbook example that others could look back on. The timing was planned, too: Ternus taking office on September 1 and getting to unveil the iPhone Duo just a few days later was intentional. Cook wanted his successor to have momentum behind him, and at Apple, that comes from the product cycle.

Politics instead of day-to-day operations

Cook describes his own role as that of a foreign affairs politician, if you will. He says he focuses on global politics and dialogue with governments because Apple wants to initiate or advocate for change in many areas—and that involves a lot of work. He helps Ternus wherever Ternus wants him to. The foundation for this is strong mutual trust and frequent, substantive communication.

And his advice to his successor? Ternus should make the job his own, Cook says, and that means not imitating him, just as he himself did not imitate Steve Jobs. There is a history behind that statement. In 2011, Jobs told Cook never to ask himself what Steve would do in his place. Cook is now passing that freedom on.

What those words are worth

Of course a chairman says something like this; it is part of the ritual of an orderly transition. Whether it is true will become clear through decisions, not interviews. The early signs support Cook’s account: Ternus is already reshaping the leadership team, most recently with a new head of acquisitions and a new vice president for the App Store, as Bloomberg reports. He is also reportedly planning faster product launches and flatter hierarchies. That does not sound like a CEO taking orders from the board.

The real test is still to come, though. With the new products expected in October, including the MacBook Pro with an OLED display, Ternus will take the stage with his first major lineup of products as CEO. Cook has arranged a favorable wind for him—but Ternus has to do the sailing himself.