Apple is ramping up succession plans for CEO Tim Cook and may tap this hardware exec to take over, report says

Apple’s board of directors and senior executives have been accelerating succession plans for Tim Cook, sources told the Financial Times .

After serving as CEO for 14 years, Cook may step down as early as next year, the report said.

Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, 50-year-old John Ternus , is widely seen as the most likely successor, but no final decisions have been made yet, sources told the FT .

The engineer joined Apple’s product design team in 2001 and has overseen hardware engineering for most major products the tech company has launched ever since, according to Ternus’ LinkedIn profile .

He has also played a prominent role during Apple’s most recent keynotes, introducing products like the new iPhone Air. Ternus had been rumored to be Cook’s poten