News

Who is John Ternus, the incoming Apple CEO?

Published

4 months ago

April 21, 2026

Preport

After 15 years, Tim Cook will hand off the Apple CEO role to John Ternus, the company’s senior vice president of hardware engineering. Starting on September 1, Ternus will lead one of the world’s most valuable companies, but if you’re not a dedicated Apple enthusiast, you’ve probably never heard of this man, who has largely remained out of the spotlight until now.

How long has John Ternus worked at Apple?

Ternus has worked at Apple for nearly half of his life — now 51 years old, he has been with the company for 25 years.

He joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 as only his second job out of college (his first was at a small maker of virtual reality devices called Virtual Research Systems). By 2013, Ternus was a VP of hardware engineering, and was promoted to the SVP role in 2021. Ternus — who is 15 years younger than Cook — was among the youngest of top Apple executives who had been rumored as a possible successor, implying that Apple could be looking for someone to lead the company for a long time. After all, Apple has only had two CEOs in this millennium, so it seems that leadership continuity is important to the company.

Ternus reports to Cook, whom he considers a mentor, and leads all of hardware engineering at Apple. That’s a pretty big deal for a company that’s known for ubiquitous hardware like the iPhone and the MacBook.

In his 2024 commencement speech at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania’s engineering school, Ternus reflected on the lessons he learned at Apple, which perhaps can tell us a bit about his character — or at least a sanitized version of it.

“Always assume you’re as smart as anyone else in the room, but never assume that you know as much as they do,” Ternus said in the speech. “With this mindset, you’ll find the confidence you need to push forward, but more importantly, the humility to ask questions.”

In a tech ecosystem populated with abrasive egos, it’s refreshing to hear Ternus utter the word “humility.” Better yet, he doesn’t appear to have an X account.

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What projects did John Ternus lead at Apple?

Ternus’s earliest project at Apple involved scrutinizing parts for the Apple Cinema Display, an early desktop monitor.

“At some point in my first year, I found myself at a supplier facility. I was far away from home. Well past midnight, I was using a magnifying glass to count the number of grooves on the head of a screw […] and I was arguing with the supplier because these parts had 35 grooves. They were supposed to have 25,” Ternus recalled in his commencement speech. “I distinctly remember stepping back for a minute and thinking, ‘What the hell am I doing? Is this normal?’”

As Ternus climbed the corporate ladder, his responsibilities grew. He may no longer spend as much time analyzing screws, but he still seems to take pride in getting the little details right. In a recent interview, when Ternus was asked about his favorite memory of Steve Jobs, he mentioned the former Apple co-founder’s attention to craftsmanship.

“[Jobs] was moving a piece of furniture, a chest of drawers, and pulled it away from the wall and looked at the back and was just reflecting on, you know, that the carpenter who made it had made it beautiful,” Ternus said. “It finished the back as beautifully as the rest of it, even though nobody was going to see it, right? And I think about that all the time because I think that perfectly exemplifies what we do here.”

From there, he went on to lead the hardware development behind products across the Apple ecosystem, overseeing launches like AirPods, Apple Watch, and the Vision Pro. He also had a hand in major technical upgrades at Apple, like Apple’s transition from Intel chips to its own proprietary Apple silicon.

Most recently, Ternus was involved in the production of the MacBook Neo, Apple’s new, more affordable laptop model that lowers costs through some clever tradeoffs in hardware design, like using an iPhone chip to power the device.

“We never want to ship junk. We want to ship great products that have that Apple experience, that Apple quality. To do that with the Neo required building something completely new from the ground up […] leveraging both the technologies we’d been developing like Apple silicon, but also the kind of expertise that we’ve developed over many, many years of building Macs, and building phones, and building iPads, and all of these things,” Ternus told Tom’s Guide.

As CEO, Ternus will have to steer Apple through its challenge to catch up in the AI race and figure out what to do with the underlying tech behind the Vision Pro.

What else do we know about John Ternus?

Ternus was on the swimming team at Penn. For his senior project, he built a feeding arm that people with quadriplegia could control with head movements.

According to public records of political donations, Ternus donated $2,900 to Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in 2021.

Otherwise, Ternus has maintained a relatively low profile.

News

WAFU-B Women’s Champions League Qualifiers: Ruthless Edo Queens Crush AS Garde Nationale 7-0, Moses Bags Hat-Trick

Published

5 hours ago

August 24, 2026

Preport

Nigeria champions Edo Queens made a sensational start to their WAFU-B Women’s Champions League qualifying campaign after thrashing AS Garde Nationale of Niger 7-0 in their opening Group B encounter in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Edo Queens wasted no time making their intentions clear as Chioma Moses opened the scoring in the fifth minute, giving the Nigerian champions an early advantage and putting their opponents under immediate pressure.

Moses doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time after converting from the penalty spot, sending Edo Queens into the break with a commanding 2-0 advantage.

The Nigerian champions returned from the interval with even greater intensity, with Atume Doosuur scoring just two minutes into the second half to make it 3-0.

Doosuur completed her brace in the 56th minute before Aminat Folorunsho added a fifth goal six minutes later as Edo Queens continued to tear apart the AS Garde Nationale defence.

Moses completed her hat-trick in the 76th minute, producing the standout individual performance of the match, before Oluwakemi Adegbuyi put the finishing touch on the emphatic victory with the seventh goal in the third minute of stoppage time.

The victory was built around a sensational display from Chioma Moses, who emerged as the Woman of the Match after scoring three goals and playing a central role in Edo Queens’ dominant performance.

Moses’ hat-trick not only underlined her clinical finishing but also gave the Nigerian champions a major attacking weapon as they began their campaign in emphatic fashion.

The 7-0 demolition gives Edo Queens an early boost in their bid to secure another appearance at the CAF Women’s Champions League after their impressive run in the competition in 2024.

Edo Queens won the WAFU-B competition on their debut in 2024 before going on to finish fourth at the CAF Women’s Champions League later that year. (“aclsports.com” (https://www.aclsports.com/caf-womens-champions-league-edo-queens-in-burkina-faso-for-qualifiers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

Ahead of this year’s competition, Edo Queens assistant coach Gabriel Benson had expressed confidence in the squad and challenged the players to represent Nigeria and Edo State with pride.

“Edo Queens have all it takes to make the country proud,” Benson said before the tournament. (“punchng.com” (https://punchng.com/edo-queens-begin-wafu-b-campaign-against-as-gnn/?utm_source=chatgpt.com))

“The girls are ready and good to go.”

They backed up that confidence with a ruthless performance, with Moses’ hat-trick and Doosuur’s brace highlighting the attacking firepower available to the Nigerian champions.

Edo Queens will now turn their attention to their remaining Group B fixtures against ASEC Mimosas of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghanaian champions Ampem Darkoa, knowing that stronger tests await them in their pursuit of a place in the CAF Women’s Champions League.

But after putting seven goals past AS Garde Nationale in their opening match, Edo Queens have already delivered a powerful warning to their WAFU-B rivals — and with Woman of the Match Chioma Moses leading the charge, the Nigerian champions look ready for another big continental run.

Business

Africa largest beneficiary of GEF funding – Official

Published

6 hours ago

August 24, 2026

Preport

The Global Environment Facility (GEF), a family of funds supporting environmental action globally, says African countries are the largest beneficiaries of its funding for sustainable environmental projects.

Ulrich Apel, GEF Senior Environmental Specialist, disclosed this on Monday while responding to questions on mechanisms for accessing environmental finance.

Apel said Africa had received about 30 per cent of GEF funding, ahead of Asia, which received 18 per cent, and Latin America and the Caribbean, which received 15 per cent.

“First of all, we have programmes that cover all the available funding. We programme all of our available funding, and in fact, the African region is the largest beneficiary of our funding, having received about 30 per cent of the funds, followed by Asia with 18 per cent, and Latin America and the Caribbean with 15 per cent,” he said.

He was responding to PREMIUM TIMES’ questions about how African countries, including Nigeria, could more easily access GEF funding.

According to him, African countries are a particular focus of the GEF’s funding because of the region’s vulnerability to land degradation, desertification and drought, which are central issues at the ongoing United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP17.

“So, I don’t think the problem is necessarily the accessibility of funds, because we programme all the funding that we have available,” Apel said.

The disclosure came as governments, financial institutions and businesses at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia intensified efforts to mobilise finance for land restoration and drought resilience.

Finance takes centre stage at COP17

24 August was designated as Finance Day at UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with discussions across meeting rooms and the plenary hall focused on mobilising public and private investment for land restoration and drought resilience.

The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD is placing particular emphasis on rangelands — including drylands, grasslands, shrublands, wetlands and deserts — which cover more than half of the Earth’s land surface.

Despite their importance to pastoralists, biodiversity, food systems and carbon storage, about half of the world’s rangelands are estimated to be degraded.

Against this backdrop, governments, development banks, investment funds and businesses participating in COP17 on Monday announced $1.3 billion in new and pipeline financing for land restoration and drought resilience across 23 countries on five continents.

GEF unveils drought programme

The GEF also announced the development of a new Drylands and Drought Management Integrated Program aimed at helping countries proactively manage drought, strengthen resilience in drylands and respond to growing risks to ecosystems, food security, water availability, livelihoods and health.

The programme will be implemented during the GEF-9 investment cycle, covering 2026 to 2030.

The facility said the programme responds to requests from parties to the UNCCD for the GEF to prioritise drought resilience in its programming.

It will support countries and communities in better preparing for, monitoring, assessing, mitigating, and responding to the cascading impacts of drought.

“Investing in healthy land and healthy people means investing in food security, climate resilience, biodiversity, water, jobs, and peace,” said Claude Gascon, GEF Interim CEO and Chairperson.

“Through this new Integrated Program, we will support countries in moving from crisis response toward proactive drought resilience.”

The Drylands and Drought Management Integrated Program has a tentative GEF grant envelope of $140 million.

It will work closely with the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, the Drought Resilience Investment Facility, and other initiatives that support resilience across drylands and rangelands.

GEF backs rangelands initiative

As part of the broader push, the GEF is also supporting the Rangelands Flagship Initiative, a multi-partner global initiative led by Mongolia and the UNCCD to significantly increase investments in conserving, sustainably managing and restoring rangelands.

The GEF supports the development and coordination of the initiative through the UNCCD COP17 Legacy Project, a $3.3 million GEF investment implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The project is leveraging an additional $8 million in co-financing from Mongolia and IUCN.

During the GEF-8 cycle, which runs from 2022 to 2026, the GEF approved 50 projects across its family of funds supporting sustainable rangeland management and restoration, as well as pastoralist livelihoods.

The projects represent a total investment of more than $300 million.

The GEF said the projects, which are at various stages of development, could complement the Rangelands Flagship Initiative and help scale up successful approaches to rangeland management and restoration.

What GEF-9 means for Africa

With an initial programming level of $3.9 billion, GEF-9 will support expanded investments in nature-positive development, drought resilience and sustainable land management.

Four GEF-9 Integrated Programs are strongly aligned with UNCCD objectives and are expected to attract more than $800 million in GEF grant funding.

READ ALSO: COP17 advances $1.3bn for land restoration, puts rangelands at centre

They include programmes focused on Food Systems, Critical Forest Biomes, Blue and Green Islands, and the new Drylands and Drought Management Integrated Program.

Under GEF-9, drought resilience is expected to become more central, targeted and measurable.

The cycle includes a dedicated objective for implementing national drought plans, a drought vulnerability index incorporated into the resource allocation formula for countries, and new indicators to track improvements in drought resilience.

The GEF said GEF-9 would enable investments that help countries address urgent environmental priorities through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.

Across the GEF family of funds, 20 per cent of resources are expected to benefit Indigenous Peoples and local communities directly.

The replenishment also places greater emphasis on mobilising private capital for environmental action. Ten per cent of total GEF-9 funding is allocated to the blended finance window, with an overall target of using 25 per cent of GEF resources to help mobilise private-sector investment