Apple’s longtime chip architect Johny Srouji has told CEO Tim Cook that he is seriously considering leaving the company for another employer, according to multiple reports. The potential departure of Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies comes amid one of the largest waves of executive turnover the company has seen in years.
Srouji’s status, however, is not entirely clear-cut. Follow-up reporting says he has recently reassured staff that he doesn’t plan to leave “anytime soon,” suggesting active internal efforts to keep him in place even as questions swirl about Apple’s leadership bench and AI strategy.
A Rare Threat to Apple’s Chip Advantage
Srouji is one of Apple’s most important behind-the-scenes leaders. As senior VP of hardware technologies, he oversees Apple’s custom silicon effort—the chips that power everything from iPhones and iPads to Macs and Apple Watches. Those chips are widely seen as one of Apple’s biggest competitive advantages.
According to a Bloomberg report, Srouji recently told Tim Cook he was “seriously considering leaving in the near future” and has informed colleagues that if he does go, he intends to join another company rather than retire. Apple has declined to comment publicly on his intentions.
If Srouji ultimately exits, it would be a major blow to Apple at a moment when the company is under pressure to prove it can keep pace with rivals in AI and next-generation hardware.
A C-Suite in Flux
Srouji’s deliberations come on the heels of a rapid sequence of other high-profile changes. In the past few months:
- Jeff Williams, Apple’s longtime chief operating officer, announced his retirement. His role has been handed to Sabih Khan as part of a planned succession, with Williams set to fully retire after a transition period.
- Earlier in 2025, Luca Maestri stepped down as chief financial officer, with Kevan Parekh taking over as CFO on January 1, 2025.
Then, in just a few days this December, Apple announced additional shifts:
- John Giannandrea, head of machine learning and AI strategy, is stepping down and set to retire in 2026.
- Lisa Jackson, vice president for Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, will retire in late January 2026.
- Kate Adams, Apple’s general counsel since 2017, plans to retire in late 2026. Jennifer Newstead, currently Meta’s chief legal officer, will join Apple in early 2026 and become general counsel on March 1, 2026, eventually overseeing both Legal and Government Affairs.
- Alan Dye, the vice president in charge of user interface design and a key figure behind many iOS and watchOS interfaces, has left Apple to join Meta as its design chief.
Taken together, the departures amount to a rare shake-up at a company long known for executive continuity and tightly controlled succession planning.
AI Pressure and Internal Uncertainty
Dataconomy notes that Apple’s leadership churn is unfolding just as the company faces intense pressure to prove it can compete in the AI boom. While rivals like Microsoft, Google, and Meta have aggressively rolled out generative AI products, Apple has been criticized for moving more cautiously and for delays in overhauling Siri with more sophisticated AI models.
Losing—or even nearly losing—Srouji would be especially sensitive in that context. Apple’s in-house silicon has been a critical foundation for on-device AI and advanced machine learning features. Any perceived instability around the group that builds those chips could worry investors and partners already anxious about the company’s AI roadmap.
Tim Cook now has to manage two delicate tasks at once: keeping core engineering leaders like Srouji engaged, and convincing employees, investors, and regulators that Apple’s long-term AI strategy is intact despite a flurry of organizational change.
Is Tim Cook Leaving Too? Not So Fast
The executive exodus has inevitably triggered speculation about Cook’s own future. A recent Financial Times report floated the possibility that Cook could step down as CEO as soon as 2026, sparking a round of headlines about succession.
But Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman—who first reported on Srouji’s potential departure—has called those rumors premature, saying there are few internal signs of an imminent Cook exit and that he would be surprised to see Cook leave by mid-2026.
Dataconomy’s piece echoes that view, noting that while the turnover has created a sense of uncertainty around Apple’s next era, credible reporting still points to Cook staying on to steer the company through its AI transition.
What Srouji’s Decision Means for Apple
For now, the situation remains unresolved. The reporting paints a picture of Srouji as genuinely weighing his options—seriously enough to tell Cook and colleagues he might leave—while also signaling to his team that he doesn’t plan to walk away in the immediate future.
If he stays, Apple preserves a key architect of its chip strategy at a critical moment and buys time to groom successors. If he leaves, the company will have to prove that its silicon edge is institutional, not individual—and reassure markets that its AI and hardware roadmaps won’t be derailed.
Either way, the episode underscores a broader truth: Apple, long seen as one of Silicon Valley’s most stable giants, is entering a period of visible transition at the top. How it manages that transition—starting with whether it can keep Johny Srouji in the fold—will shape the company’s next decade as much as any new product announcement.