&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "No MBA, no master’s degree: Apple CEO John Ternus has one Steve Jobs-like quality")
Apple has a new CEO, but John Ternus is not the typical corporate chief. He does not have an MBA or a master’s degree. Instead, the longtime Apple engineer has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
What makes Ternus particularly interesting is something much harder to put on a CV: an almost obsessive attention to detail. During a 2024 commencement speech at Penn Engineering, Ternus recalled a moment from one of his earliest projects at Apple. He had become fixated on the tiny grooves cut into stainless-steel screws used on the back of the Cinema Display.
Most customers would probably never notice them.
Ternus did.
Apple CEO once counted screw grooves at midnight
Ternus recalled working late at night, far from home, when he used a magnifying glass to count the grooves on one of the screws.
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The supplier's parts had 35 grooves.
They were supposed to have 25. He found himself arguing with the supplier over the difference. Then came the question he asked himself: “What the hell am I doing? Is this normal?”
His answer was revealing. “It might not be normal, but it’s right,” Ternus said. For him, the detail mattered even if the customer never saw it. After spending months developing a product, he believed the team should get every part right. That philosophy has an obvious resemblance to the culture associated with Steve Jobs, who was famously known for his intense focus on product details.
Who is John Ternus?
Ternus joined Apple’s Product Design team in 2001. He became vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2013 and joined Apple’s executive team as senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in 2021. He has overseen hardware engineering across major Apple products, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods. Apple also credits him with work on reliability, durability, materials and hardware design. Before Apple, Ternus worked as a mechanical engineer at Virtual Research Systems. Now, after 15 years of Tim Cook leading Apple, Ternus is in charge.
Ternus’ first big Apple moment
Ternus officially became CEO on September 1, 2026, with Cook moving to executive chairman. Apple says the transition followed a long-term succession plan.
His first major public test is already approaching. Apple has scheduled its “Surprise and shine” event for September 9. The company has not confirmed the products coming to the event, but the launch is expected to be a major iPhone event. For a CEO who once stayed up counting screw grooves that customers might never see, the message is clear: the smallest details may matter just as much as the biggest products.
