Overview
- John Ternus took practical oversight of Apple’s industrial and human-interface design teams during the April–September CEO transition and has continued that role since becoming CEO last month.
- People familiar with the teams say Ternus visits Apple’s Cupertino design studio several times a week, sometimes multiple times a day, and serves as the final decision-maker on design choices.
- Ternus has shifted Cook-era operational responsibilities to CFO Kevan Parekh and COO Sabih Khan so he can spend more time on engineering and product work with Johny Srouji and Tom Marieb.
- Apple is not searching for an outside chief design officer and is instead elevating internal leads Molly Anderson (industrial design) and Steve Lemay (human interface) while rebuilding staff after senior departures to firms such as LoveFrom, OpenAI and Meta.
- The change restores a product-led focus not seen since the Jobs–Ive era and could shape upcoming devices as junior designers gain visibility and Apple hires externally to refill its design ranks.