Apple said CEO Tim Cook will become executive chairman on September 1, passing the chief executive role to John Ternus, the current senior vice president of hardware engineering. Ternus’s appointment marks the first CEO change at the company in over a decade and reflects a strategic shift at the top.

In after-hours trading following the announcement, Apple shares fell 0.5%, reflecting investor caution over the sudden leadership shift and questions about Ternus’s readiness to steer the company through its next growth phase. The dip underscores market sensitivity to executive moves at the world’s largest tech firm.

Analysts highlight Ternus’s immediate priorities include bolstering Apple’s AI strategy—building on a $1 billion annual partnership to integrate Gemini into Siri and Apple Intelligence—and planning for post-iPhone growth. He may also review workforce size to reallocate resources toward innovation and shareholder returns.