The Rise of Apple's New CEO: A Hardware Expert Takes Over in the AI Era

The Mac Mini was sorely in need of an update, and John Ternus hoped he didn't need to go through design guru Jony Ive.

Years ago, before Ternus was tapped to take the helm of one of the world's biggest and most influential companies, he led Apple's Mac hardware division. It was one of many stops as he rose through the ranks of the insular company and learned to navigate its curious internal politics.

The AI revolution that would make the Mac Mini hugely popular was still years away, yet software developers needed a new version with updated chips. A new enclosure for the Mini could require work by Ive's industrial design department that could lead to delays.