Tim Cook, first openly gay Fortune 500 CEO, to step down as Apple chief

Tim Cook, the first chief executive of a Fortune 500 company to publicly come out as gay, will step aside as head of Apple in September 2026, concluding a near‑15‑year period in which he reshaped both the company’s fortunes and the culture of corporate leadership.

Apple announced on Monday that Cook, 65, will relinquish the role of chief executive on 1 September 2026 and transition to executive chairman of the board. He will be succeeded by John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice‑president of hardware engineering, following what the company described as a “thoughtful, long‑term succession planning process” approved unanimously by directors.

Cook took over from the late Steve Jobs in 2011 amid doubts about whether Apple could retain its innovative edge. During his tenure, the company’s market capitalisation grew from roughly $350bn to around $4tn, propelled by the continued success of the iPhone, the launch of products such as the Apple Watch, AirPods and Vision Pro, and the rapid expansion of a services business now generating more than $100bn annually.

In 2014 he became the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to publicly acknowledge that he was gay, a decision that marked a turning point for LGBTQ+ visibility in global business. In a widely read essay explaining his decision, he wrote: “I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me”.

Addressing concerns about sacrificing personal privacy, Cook said at the time that visibility carried a broader responsibility. “If hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade‑off,” he wrote.

Cook has repeatedly used public platforms to link LGBTQ+ equality to the broader arc of civil rights. Speaking at an Alabama Academy of Honor ceremony in 2014, he criticised his home state’s slow progress on social justice, saying: “We were too slow on equality for African‑Americans. We were too slow on interracial marriage, and we are still too slow when it comes to equality for the LGBT community” .

Announcing his departure as chief executive, Cook struck a reflective tone. “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company,” he said, adding that Ternus had “the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour” .