Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO 'as soon as next year'

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The Financial Times reports that Apple has stepped up its preparations for the handover of the CEO role from Tim Cook. Here are the details.

Apple steps up Tim Cook’s succession efforts

According to the FT’s sources, Apple’s board and senior executives have “recently intensified” the company’s succession planning for its top role.

The FT adds that although Apple’s Senior VP of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, is the most likely to take the reins of the company, “no final decisions have been made”.

While the report doesn’t mention why Apple is accelerating its succession efforts, it notes that the move is not tied to the company’s performance:

“People close to Apple say the long-planned transition is not related to the company’s current performance, ahead of what is expected to be a blockbuster end-of-year sales period for the iPhone.

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The company is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, which covers the critical holiday period.”

Their sources also cautioned that “although preparations have intensified, the timing of any announcement could change”.

This report lands just hours after former Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams spent his last day at Apple, following the retirement announcement he made in July.

Williams had already handed operational leadership to Sabih Khan earlier this year, and his remaining responsibilities were recently redistributed among other top executives, Ternus among them.

Apple has also recently gone through a CFO transition, with longtime finance chief Luca Maestri stepping down and handing the role to Kevan Parekh, who previously served as the company’s vice president of Financial Planning and Analysis.