New Apple CEO’s One-Word X Post

Apple CEO John Ternus wrote, “Hello,” as his first social media post, apparently reinforcing his “wicked calm” presence.

How many of us can post one word on X and get almost one million followers? That’s all it took for Ternus on X, which the Financial Times calls “his first public statement as CEO.” Of the replies to Ternus’s post, Elon Musk’s “Congrats!” ranks most popular, with Smith & Wesson’s request for Ternus to “Bring back the gun emoji” second, and criticism of the Apple mouse’s misplaced charging port third. Everyone seems to want a piece of the conversation.

Anticipation of his first on-stage presentation on Wednesday and speculation about his personality are intense:

Weeks [Corning CEO] describes Ternus as a humble “good guy” but adds that his hobby of racing cars might give an insight into another side of his character. “There are not many non-passionate people that drive race cars . . . but at the same time, you have to be wicked calm and really dedicated to excellence if you’re good at it. And John is good at it.”

As expected, Apple’s new leader page is straight-up corporate, focused on Ternus’s history and accomplishments. It reveals nothing about his personal life or character, but the page does show him wearing Steve Jobs’s signature black t-shirt (which the SVP of Services and Health also dons). Students might discuss this decision: an echo, a remake, a sign of respect, or just a comfortable tee?