Angela Ahrendts

Angela Ahrendts
Born Angela Jean Ahrendts
June 12, 1960
New Palestine, Indiana, U.S.
Residence California
Nationality United States
Other names Angela Ahrendts-Couch
Alma mater Ball State University
Occupation Senior Vice President, Retail and Online Stores, Apple Inc.
Employer Apple Inc.
Home town New Palestine, Indiana
Spouse(s) Gregg Couch
Children 3[1]

Angela Ahrendts, DBE (born June 12, 1960)[2] is an American businesswoman. She was the CEO of Burberry from 2006 to 2014.[3] Ahrendts left Burberry to join Apple Inc. as Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Sales in 2014.[4] Ahrendts was ranked 49th in Forbes' 2014 list of the most powerful women in the world,[5] 9th most powerful woman in the U.K. in the BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour 100 Power List,[6] and 29th in Fortune’s 2014 list of the world's most powerful women in business.[7]

Early life

Ahrendts was born and raised in New Palestine, Indiana, the third of six children.[1] Her father, Richard Ahrendts, was a businessman, and her mother, Jean, was a homemaker.[8]

She attended New Palestine High School, where she was a varsity cheerleader.[8] In 1982, She earned an undergraduate degree in Merchandising and Marketing from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. In 2010, she received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Ball State.[9]

Career

Ahrendts moved to New York City to work the fashion industry.[1] After a series of positions including merchandising at bra maker Warnaco,[1] Ahrendts joined Donna Karan International in 1989, working to develop the luxury brand internationally through both wholesale and licensing.[10] In 1996 she was hired at Henri Bendel by Leslie Wexner to expand Bendel stores to 50 new markets, but the project was cancelled by the board of directors two years later.[1]

In 1998, she joined Fifth & Pacific Companies as Vice President of Corporate Merchandising and Design. In 2001, she was promoted to Senior Vice President Corporate Merchandising and Group President, responsible for the merchandising of the groups 20 plus brands including Laundry by Shelli Segal, Lucky Brand Dungarees and the mens retail business of Liz Claiborne Inc. In 2002, she was promoted again to serve as Executive Vice President, with full responsibility for the complete line of Liz Claiborne products, services and development across both women's and men's lines.[10]

Burberry

Ahrendts joined Burberry in January 2006, and took up the position of CEO on July 1, 2006 replacing Rose Marie Bravo. Ahrendts mitigated the brand's decline in prestige by immediately limiting the number of clothing and accessories carrying the Burberry check pattern to 10%, minimizing the damage ubiquitous counterfeits had caused to sales. She also oversaw the buying out of the Spanish franchise which was then generating 20% of group revenues to stop its unfettered licensing.[1] Ahrendts says she does not model her approach after any other fashion house, but looks to world class design as an influence including Apple Inc..[1] The company value rose during her tenure from £2 billion to over £7 billion.[1] CNN Money reported that during 2012, she was the highest paid CEO in the UK, making $26.3 million.[11]

Apple

On October 15, 2013, it was announced that Ahrendts will leave Burberry in Spring 2014 to join Apple Inc. as a member of its executive team as Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores, filling the spot vacated by John Browett in October 2012. On May 1, 2014, Apple's new SVP of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts was placed on the Apple Leadership roster, signaling her official entry into the company.[12][13]

According to Apple's 2015 Proxy Statement filed with the SEC,[14] Ahrendts earned over $70 million, more than CEO Tim Cook. As the sole female executive at Apple, this amount far surpassed the earnings of her fellow (male) executives.[15]

Awards and memberships

Personal life

Ahrendts met her husband Gregg Couch in elementary school. They married in their 30s after a 17-year long-distance relationship. The couple have three children.[26] When Ahrendts was working at Burberry, the family lived in a 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) home on an 8 acres (3.2 ha) plot west of London.[1] Brought up a Methodist, she is still an active Christian.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Hass, Nancy (9 September 2010). "Earning Her Stripes". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. ↑ "A Ahrendts - United States Public Records". FamilySearch. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Angela Ahrendts". Businessweek. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  4. ↑ Fried, Ina (14 October 2013). "Apple Hires Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts to Head its Retail Efforts". All Things Digital. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Howard, Caroline. "The World's Most Powerful Women 2014". Forbes. Forbes.com LLC. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "The Power List 2013". BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour.
  7. ↑ Fairchild, Caroline; Leahey, Colleen; VanderMey, Ane (2014). "The Most Powerful Women in Business". Fortune. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chu, Jeff (4 January 2014). "Can Apple's Angela Ahrendts Spark a Retail Revolution?". Fast Company. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  9. ↑ Barnett, Maxwell (15 October 2013). "Hoosier Angela Ahrendts Leaves Burberry for Apple". Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Executive Profile - Angela Ahrendts". Businessweek. 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Petroff, Alanna (11 June 2013). "Top paid CEO in U.K. is an American woman". CNN Money. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "Burberry chief Angela Ahrendts to join Apple". BBC News. 15 October 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Marfil, Lorelei (8 April 2014). "Angela Ahrendts Named Honorary DBE". WWD. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  14. ↑ Apple Inc. (9 January 2015). "Apple Inc., 2015 Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934". Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Stone, Natalie (22 January 2015). "Apple Exec Angela Ahrendts Earns Over $70 Million in 2014, Surpasses CEO Tim Cook". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 January 2015. Angela Ahrendts, the sole female executive at Apple, took home a whopping $73.3 million paycheck in 2014, far surpassing her fellow male execs on the earnings scale according to a proxy statement posted on the Securities and Exchange Commission website on Thursday.
  16. ↑ Wood, Zoe (12 December 2012). "Cameron reshuffles business matters advisory group". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "St. George's Society of New York 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). St. George's Society of New York. 2012. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Angela Ahrendts". Business of Fashion. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  19. ↑ McGill Murphy, Richard (17 November 2011). "2011 Businessperson of the Year". CNN Money.
  20. ↑ Adamo, Marilyn; Leahey, Colleen (21 November 2013). "2013'S Top People In Business". CNN Money.
  21. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (12 December 2013). < "Angela Ahrendts". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "The 1000 Most Creative People in Business: Angela Ahrendts - CEO, Burberry". Fast Company. 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  23. ↑ Arora, Rupali; Dunn, Catherine; Kowitt, Beth; Leahey, Colleen; Sellers, Patricia; Vandermey, Anne (6 February 2014). "The 50 Most Powerful Women in Business: Global edition Fortune's Most Powerful Women". CNN Money.
  24. ↑ Arora, Rupali (10 October 2013). "Most Powerful Women - The International Power 50". CNN Money.
  25. ↑ "50 Most Powerful Women in Business 2012: The Global 50 - Fortune on CNNMoney.com". CNN Money.
  26. ↑ Hunsinger, Dana (15 October 2013). "Angela Ahrendts, a shy girl from Indiana, lands executive post at Apple". Indy Star. Retrieved 9 October 2014.

External links