Apple said on Monday that Tim Cook, its longtime chief executive, would step down in September and be succeeded by John Ternus, the head of hardware engineering. Since Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple 50 years ago and wowed the world with its computers, the company’s corner office has been a seat of technological power.
Here’s who has led Apple as chief executive through the years.
1. Michael Scott (1977 to 1981)
The year after Mr. Jobs and Mr. Wozniak, then in their 20s, founded Apple, Mr. Scott, who worked at two of Silicon Valley’s pioneering semiconductor companies, Fairchild Semiconductor and National Semiconductor, was hired to act as an adult in the room. In an interview with Business Insider in 2011, Mr. Scott said his remit had been to “handle the details,” including “getting us into the manufacturing and all the rest of the business parts.”
2. Mike Markkula (1981 to 1983)
Mr. Markkula, the first angel investor in and chairman of Apple, was known as the third co-founder of the company, alongside Mr. Jobs and Mr. Wozniak. During his time as chief executive, he also contributed his technical knack, writing several of the early software programs for the company’s first popular computer, the Apple II.
“Mike was a tremendous contributor,” said Floyd Kvamme, an early marketing executive at Apple, in a 1997 interview with The New York Times. “But he didn’t like the public eye. He liked worrying about products.”
3. John Sculley (1983 to 1993)
Mr. Sculley joined Apple from Pepsi, where he was a marketing executive and then president. Over his decade leading the company, Apple’s sales increased from $800 million to $8 billion. He and Mr. Jobs eventually entered a power struggle over the management and future direction of Apple, leading to Mr. Jobs’s departure from the company in 1985.
4. Michael Spindler (1993 to 1996)
Mr. Spindler, previously Apple’s chief operating officer, became a lightning rod for customer and investor frustration with the company. During his tenure, Apple regularly predicted demand for its products incorrectly, lost market share and engaged in a price war that cut into its profits.
“My personality played over the facts in that situation,” Mr. Spindler said in an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle in 1996, months after Apple’s board of directors fired him.
5. Gil Amelio (1996 to 1997)
Mr. Amelio, who had been president of National Semiconductor and a member of Apple’s board, stepped in as chief executive when Apple was in financial free fall. He cut costs, discontinued projects including an operating system and laid off about a third of its work force. Under Mr. Amelio, Apple bought NeXT, the computer start-up founded by Mr. Jobs after his ouster in 1985, for $427 million to replace the operating system it had cut.
6. Steve Jobs (1997 to 2011)
Mr. Jobs, who had co-founded Apple when he was 21 years old, was the company’s most iconic chief executive. He did not get there without struggles.
After Apple’s board of directors removed Mr. Jobs in 1985 following his clash with Mr. Sculley, he founded NeXT, a computer start-up focused on higher education and professionals. When he returned to Apple in 1997, he revived the company’s flagging fortunes and put it on a path toward astonishing growth.
Upon his return to Apple, Mr. Jobs oversaw the creation of a series of innovative devices: the iMac, the iPod, the iPad and the iPhone. These devices led to an upheaval of consumer electronics and transformed whole industries, including music and telecommunications.
7. Tim Cook (2011 to 2026)
After Mr. Jobs died in 2011 from cancer, his longtime deputy Mr. Cook became chief executive. Mr. Cook had joined Apple in 1998 from the computer maker Compaq. He became its chief operating officer in 2007, transforming how Apple managed its product inventory and creating the global operations that made possible the annual production of hundreds of millions of devices.
With Mr. Cook at the helm, Apple ballooned into a giant worth more than $4 trillion, with more than $110 billion in annual revenue. He also revolutionized the company’s supply chain, expanded its services business and made inroads in Washington and Beijing.
8. John Ternus (September 2026)
Mr. Ternus, 50, joined Apple in 2001 and rose through its ranks as he oversaw the development of its Macs and iPads. He became Apple’s head of hardware in 2021 and will start as its chief executive in September.
Kalley Huang is a Times reporter in San Francisco, covering Apple and the technology industry.
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