Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple CEO -John Ternus takes over September 1-Succession is the real story here!
We track every new Microsoft Dynamics 365 and NetSuite job posting across North America, every single day, and October gave us the clearest read yet on where this market is actually heading. The short version is that ERP hiring cooled about 11% from September. That headline is true, and it is also misleading. Almost the entire drop sits in the Dynamics implementation tracks, while NetSuite held flat and demand for senior, in-house talent stayed strong. Whether this market feels soft or busy right now depends entirely on which role you are trying to fill. I pulled the full track by track breakdown into this month’s DynamicsFocus Recruiting Report, and it is attached below. If you have a role that has been sitting open since the summer, I would genuinely love to hear what you have tried so far and am more than happy to schedule a 30 minute Teams call to share potential strategies to rectify the situation, no strings attached. #MicrosoftDynamics #D365 #Dynamics365 #NetSuite #ERP #NetSuiteRecruiting #MicrosoftDynamicsRecruiting #TalentMarket #Hiring #AIAgents
November 6, 2026
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The story most people will skim past is the succession itself.
Ternus has been at Apple for 25 years. He joined the product design team in 2001, made VP of hardware engineering by 2013, and stepped into the SVP role in 2021.
By the time he was named the next CEO, he had already led or contributed to nearly every major product Apple shipped in the last decade: iPhone, iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch, the Apple silicon transition, and most recently the MacBook Neo.
That is what real succession planning looks like.
A few things worth noting for anyone thinking about leadership continuity in their own company or portfolio:
Apple has had two CEOs this millennium.
Cook was hired in 1998 to fix a broken supply chain, not to run the company. His promotion was never a foregone conclusion. He earned it by running Apple smoothly through three separate stretches when Jobs had to step back.
Ternus followed a similar path and was never positioned as the heir apparent for years. He built a record, stayed close to the work, and was the strong choice when the time came.
The lesson for PE operating partners, portfolio CEOs, and enterprise leaders making succession calls: the strongest internal candidates are usually the ones quietly building depth over a decade or more, not the ones jockeying for the next title.
Outside hires still matter (and I’d like to think you will reach out to DynamicsFocus when that is the right call) Sometimes they are clearly the best path forward.
However, if the next leader already understands the product, the people, and the business flow; the transition cost drops significantly.
Source: “Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO, John Ternus taking over” by Amanda Silberling and Connie Loizos, TechCrunch, April 20, 2026.
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