It is stated that John Ternus, who will take over the CEO seat at Apple as of September 1, is preparing to bring the company’s design-oriented approach to the fore again. According to the information shared by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in the Power On newsletter, Ternus aims to strengthen the position of the design team in the Apple management structure, where the influence of the operations and finance teams has increased in recent years. This approach draws attention, especially in terms of the changing corporate balances after Jony Ive left the company.
The design team played a decisive role in Apple’s product development processes for many years. During the Steve Jobs era, the industrial design group led by Jony Ive was considered one of the most influential teams shaping the company’s product vision. In a statement in Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography published in 2011, Jobs said that Ive had the most operational authority within the company after him. This clearly demonstrated the importance of design in Apple’s decision-making mechanisms.
After Jony Ive’s departure, management of the design team was handed over to then-chief operations officer Jeff Williams. Thus, while the period in which design was directly represented at the top level in Apple’s management structure came to an end, the impact of operations and supply chain management became more visible. The lack of a senior design manager within the company in recent years has been considered one of the symbols of this change. Among the notable developments was the fact that the profiles of Molly Anderson and Steve Lemay were added to Apple’s leadership page only recently.
John Ternus aims to bring Apple design team to the fore again
According to information provided by Bloomberg, John Ternus spent a significant part of his time with Apple’s industrial design team while preparing for his role as CEO. Ternus, who has been heading the hardware engineering organization for many years, is expected to be more directly involved in product development processes than Tim Cook. For this reason, evaluations are being made that the cooperation between the design and engineering teams within the company can be strengthened again.
According to a statement in Gurman’s news, Ternus expressed the opinion that “Many of the most beautifully designed products that customers own are an Apple product. We will make sure it stays that way.” This statement indicates that Apple may place more emphasis on design quality in its future products. However, it is known that the company faces intense competition in its current product portfolio not only in aesthetics but also in areas such as performance, energy efficiency and artificial intelligence features.
On the other hand, it seems that Ternus has been made more visible in Apple’s corporate communication activities recently. The company highlights Ternus, especially in the promotions of new generation products such as MacBook Neo. In addition, one of Ternus’ first major public events after taking office as CEO is expected to be the foldable iPhone model, which is expected to be introduced in the fall.
It is evaluated that the foldable iPhone will offer not only a new product category for Apple, but also an opportunity to re-showcase its design competence. While the company has been cautious about entering the foldable phone market to date, it appears that rival manufacturers have been offering products in this segment for several generations. Apple’s approach in this area can give important clues about how its priorities in design and user experience will be shaped in the new management period.
It is not yet clear whether there will be a radical transformation in Apple’s management culture with Ternus taking office. Despite this, the information provided by Bloomberg indicates that the influence of design teams within the company can be increased again. New products and organizational changes to be introduced in the coming period will reveal more clearly how Apple will establish the balance between design and operation.