Apple’s Succession: John Ternus, Tim Cook, and the CEO Role

John Ternus may succeed Tim Cook as Apple's CEO. Challenges include Cook's continued influence & government relations. A co-CEO structure is possible. Other companies also tried dual-CEO setup.

And as Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Design, John Ternus, is increasingly considered as the frontrunner to be Tim Cook’s follower, we might be positioning way too much weight on that solitary word when we talk about this step.

The Traditional Succession Plan

First, because also if (or when) he really leaves as chief executive officer, the most apparent and likely course for him will be to come to be Apple’s executive chairman. Under typical conditions, that has a tendency to be the book and Wall Street-approved sequence for firms like Apple.

Surprisingly, Spotify’s statement came just a week after Oracle revealed that veteran chief executive officer Safra Catz would certainly be prospered by co-CEOs Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia, in what is the business’s second crack at the dual-CEO method.

Apple’s Unique Situation

Second, because, well, Apple isn’t under typical conditions. Whatever Ternus’ management and negotiation abilities may be, do you see Trump accepting the new individual on anything? It is highly not likely that he will instantly treat Ternus as Chef’s equal even if his title states chief executive officer, and Chef is probably shateringly knowledgeable about that.

Trump is plainly comfortable managing Chef. At official occasions, he’ll take any kind of chance to name-drop him or highlight that Cook remains in the room. And more notably, Trump knows exactly how having Prepare in tow plays out on video camera, even to name a few technology CEOs.

Would certainly this be a possibly tough setup for Ternus? Second, since just how complimentary would he actually be to guide Apple in a brand-new instructions he saw fit, if the person who set the current direction is still there with exactly the same title, even if in name just?

As for Cook, provided, the brand-new duty would not exactly be the emphasize of his job.

In the united state, particularly for public companies, the regulation calls for disclosure of a firm’s major executive police officer (and major financial and accounting police officers), yet it does not require the magnate to lug the title “CEO”. What matters is that a police officer carries out the leadership feature and the ideal disclosures are made.

The potential of Tim as Co-CEO focused on federal government relationships does not look like a most likely scenario. A few years back, there was talk that Tim might have political passions. Even if he did, I believe taking a look at the divisiveness of our national politics healed him promptly.

A couple of months earlier, Spotify introduced that Daniel Ek, the business’s creator and CEO, will certainly tip down in January. He’ll end up being Spotify’s exec chairman and will be changed by co-CEOs Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström.

And while I’m the initial to confess that having co-CEOs does not appear very Apple-like, one can argue that a great deal of what Cook has located himself correcting the past year hasn’t really felt all that Apple-like either.

A Possible Co-CEO Structure for Apple

A shared structure, with Chef and Ternus both holding the chief executive officer title, can show to be the sweet spot Apple requires for the next few years. Ternus would run Apple internally, while coordinating with Chef’s handling of federal government affairs.

Trump is plainly comfortable dealing with Cook. At official events, he’ll take any kind of chance to name-drop him or highlight that Chef is in the area. And a lot more notably, Trump knows just how having Prepare in tow plays out on camera, even amongst various other tech Chief executive officers.

I presume he would certainly take the chairman’s spot, as others have actually stated, and I additionally assume he will certainly work to coach others and perhaps get involved in an endeavor fund. I do not see him as somebody that will certainly go and create a book on a speaking scenic tour (he has actually constantly struck me as a little an introvert), yet that is not out of the realm of opportunity.

Cook’s Future Role

It is very unlikely that he will suddenly deal with Ternus as Chef’s equal simply since his title states CEO, and Cook is probably shateringly mindful of that.

When it comes to Chef, granted, the new function wouldn’t exactly be the emphasize of his career. Frankly, that is the job currently, and he can’t leave it. For far better or even worse, he put himself in this situation, although the circumstances were well beyond his control.

These are rarely the only tech firms that have experimented with a dual-CEO framework. Atlassian, Salesforce, SAP, and Workday have actually likewise had, or still have, co-CEOs, with similar split-responsibility plans.