I didn’t know it at the time, but the person I was interviewing was about to ascend to the highest position in all of tech. I was speaking to John Ternus, who is currently senior vice president of hardware engineering and soon-to-be Apple CEO, for an interview on Apple’s 50th anniversary and what’s next for the company. And what struck me most — just as when I interviewed Ternus about the iPhone Air — is how down to earth and even-keeled he is.
Of course, this was before Ternus was announced as the successor to Tim Cook for Sept. 1, at which point he’ll be taking over the reins for a $4 trillion business. But I don’t expect his demeanor or approach to change much as Ternus preps for this high-stakes role. During my conversation with Ternus, he was polished and quite thoughtful in his responses, and not too dissimilar from the man he’s replacing.
