Steve Jobs always said Apple was founded at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts. Under Tim Cook it’s come to exist at the intersection of operations and finance. Under John Ternus, announced Monday as Cook’s successor, Apple will exist at the intersection of silicon and supply chains.
Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering and a 25-year Apple veteran, is, by all accounts, calm, collegial, and technically formidable. No doubt there are people who will lament the choice, yearning for someone more like Jobs and designer Jony Ive. That partnership, from 1997 to 2011, forged the soul of Apple with a spate of hit products including the candy-colored iMacs and iBooks, plus the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Back then Apple’s achievements weren’t just in tech; they were in design, even human spirit. Jobs wanted to build products that “make our hearts sing.” And he did.
