Who Will Replace Tim Cook? This Is A Row Of Competitive Executives For The Position Of CEO Of Apple

JAKARTA - When Tim Cook someday retires as CEO of Apple, several internal company executive names become strong candidates to replace him. Although Jeff Williams, Apple's current Chief Operating Officer, has been considered a favorite, his retirement announcement confirms that Cook's successor will come from within the company.

Apple is known to have always promoted internal executives to peak positions, given the complexity of managing a trillions of dollars worth of companies. Internal candidates are also considered to understand Apple's culture and operations better than outside executives who might want to change the company just to leave their mark.

Here are the three leading candidates that Apple has most likely chosen as Cook's replacement candidates, although the official announcement has not yet been released:

Craig Federighi As Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi (56 years old) is Apple's highest-profile executive. He is responsible for iOS and macOS, as well as the face of Apple Intelligence.

His experience at NeXT and as a CTO in e-commerce company Ariba adds to his credibility. However, his age could be a factor if Cook retired for a long period of time, as Cook said in 2021, citing the possibility of retiring in the next 10 years.

John Ternus 50 years old, John Ternus is Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, equivalent to Federighi in hardware. He oversees the development of AirPods, all iPad versions, and Intel's transition to Apple Silicon.

Recently, he also led Apple's robotics team. His younger age made him a strong candidate for a longer leadership period.

Greg Joswiak At the age of 61, Joswiak is Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and the face of the launch of the iPhone Pro model for several years. Although he has no direct experience in software or hardware such as Federighi and Ternus, he has a wide view of Apple's operations and close ties with developers to support Macs.

Other candidates besides the three names above, there are several other potentially executives. Sabih Khan (59 years), a replacement for Jeff Williams as COO, has had extensive experience since joining Apple in 1995.

The role of COO that includes almost all aspects of the company makes him a strong candidate, just as Cook replaces Steve Jobs. Eddy Cue (60 years), who leads Apple Services, and Deirdre O'Brien (about 59 years), who manages Apple Stores and human resources, is also an option. Although O'Brien has a controversial reputation for his anti-border stance, his 35-year experience at Apple reinforces his position.

Apple tends to choose internal executives because of the scale and complexity of companies that require an in-depth understanding. Even if Cook chooses to retire gradually, the transition to a new CEO will remain challenging, given the amount of responsibility that must be carried out.