New Apple CEO says 'hello' on X and gets 2.6 million+ views

John Ternus, who took over as Apple CEO on Tuesday, posted a simple "hello" on X. The post drew more than 2.6 million views, with Elon Musk replying "welcome" and former White House AI adviser Sriram Krishnan also welcoming him.

Ternus took over as Apple CEO on September 1, succeeding Tim Cook, who led the company for 15 years. Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman.

Ternus, 50, has spent nearly 25 years at Apple. He joined the company's product design team in 2001 and became vice president of hardware engineering in 2013.

He joined Apple's executive team in 2021 as senior vice president of hardware engineering, reporting directly to Cook.

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In that role, Ternus oversaw engineering teams working on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and AirPods.

Ternus began his career as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems before joining Apple.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

His appointment puts a longtime hardware executive at the top of Apple. Ternus is also the same age Cook was when he became CEO in 2011, succeeding co-founder Steve Jobs.

Cook took over from Jobs in 2011 and went on to oversee a major expansion of Apple's business.

During his tenure, the iPhone became a multibillion-dollar business, while services grew into a major part of the company. Apple also expanded its focus on wearables and health.

Cook strengthened Apple's presence in China and later India. He announced in April that he would leave the CEO position at the end of August.