Angela Ahrendts has officially taken the reins of Apple’s new Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores. Ahrendts’s last day as the CEO of Burberry was yesterday, and Apple’s website has been updated to reflect Ahrendts beginning her work at Apple today. Her biography, which can be found on Apple’s executive leadership website, explains her role at Apple:
The biography also provides a quick recap of her experience in retail and accolades:
Last week, Tim Cook announced that Ahrendts would “join the Apple team” this week, but the Apple CEO did not specify an exact start date. We understand that Ahrendts is already planning a presentation to retail staff regarding her plans for Apple retail.
Apple announced Ahrendts appointment last fall, and Tim Cook told Apple employees via an internal memo that Ahrendts is the “best person in the world for this role.” Her role is unique in that this is the first time that Apple will have a Senior Vice President covering both retail and online stores. Apple’s previous head of retail was John Browett, and he only remained at the company for roughly six months due to cultural incompatibilities. Apple’s previous Head of Online Stores was Jennifer Bailey, but Bailey has since shifted her role into leading the development of an iTunes-based mobile payments service. Apple recently poached Bob Kupbens from Delta to be the Vice President of Online Stores.
A photo of the newly complete Apple executive biographies page (the page is ordered alphabetically after CEO Cook):
