Ternus takes hands-on role in Apple design

Apple CEO John Ternus has taken a more hands-on role in the company’s design work, spending time in its design studio several times a week, according to people familiar with the department cited in reporting about the leadership transition. The account describes a marked change from predecessor Tim Cook, who visited about once a month. Ternus became CEO on September 1. Since then, he has worked with Apple’s industrial design and human interface teams, sometimes visiting the studio more than once in a day, according to the account. He had already worked closely with designers as head of hardware engineering, where coordination with product design was part of his role. The shift has given Ternus what has been described as an effective overall design leadership role, but Apple has not formally named him chief design officer. The two teams retain separate leaders: Molly Anderson oversees industrial design, and Steve Lemay leads human interface design. The available reporting does not establish whether Ternus has formal authority over both functions or how the teams’ reporting arrangements may change. Ternus’s influence over design began expanding before he became CEO.