Apple CEO John Ternus makes product design a “major priority”

John Ternus has made product design a major focus since becoming Apple’s CEO last month. He has personally increased his involvement with the company’s industrial design and human interface teams.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Ternus visits Apple’s design studio several times a week, and sometimes more than once in a single day.

Ternus focuses on design

Ternus had already worked with the design studio as Apple’s head of hardware engineering, because the two functions require close coordination. Since becoming CEO, however, he has become more directly involved with the industrial design and human interface teams, Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter.

A different approach from Tim Cook

Former Apple CEO Tim Cook typically spent about an hour in the studio once a month or less, Gurman said. Cook is better known for his supply-chain expertise, while Ternus has an engineering background.

Gurman also reported that Ternus is largely leaving financial matters to Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh and supply-chain operations to Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan. That gives him more time to focus on engineering and design.