Apple’s John Ternus could be in line to succeed Tim Cook as CEO, NYT reports

John Ternus, Apple’s (AAPL) head of hardware engineering, could be next in line to replace CEO Tim Cook if he steps aside, The New York Times’ Kalley Huang and Tripp Mickle report. Apple has accelerated succession planning as Cook has expressed interest in reducing his workload, with expectations that he would become board chairman if he steps down, sources say. Ternus has emerged as a leading internal CEO candidate, though several other senior executives are also being prepared as potential successors, the sources add.