Dame Angela Jean Ahrendts, (born 7 June 1960) is an American-British businesswoman who was previously the

senior vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice ...

of retail at

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

She was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

from 2006 to 2014. She left Burberry to join Apple in 2014. She was ranked 25th in Forbes' 2015 list of the most powerful women in the world, 9th most powerful woman in the U.K. in the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

Woman's Hour 100 Power List, and 29th in ''

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

''s 2014 list of the world's most powerful women in business. She was also a member of the UK's Prime Minister's business advisory council until it was disbanded in 2016.

Early life

Ahrendts was born and raised in

New Palestine, Indiana New Palestine (pronounced ''PAL-es-teen'') is a town in Sugar Creek Township, Hancock County, Indiana, Sugar Creek Township, Hancock County, Indiana, Hancock County, Indiana, along Sugar Creek (Driftwood River), Sugar Creek. The population was 2 ...

, the third of six children. Her father, Richard Ahrendts, was a businessman, and her mother, Jean, was a homemaker. She attended

New Palestine High School New Palestine High School is a rural public high school (grades 9–12) located in New Palestine, Indiana, New Palestine, Indiana, managed by the Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County. As of the 2016–2017 school year it serves ...

, where she was a varsity cheerleader. In 1981, she earned an undergraduate degree in Merchandising and Marketing from

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...

Career

Ahrendts moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to work in the fashion industry. After a series of positions including merchandising at bra maker Warnaco, she joined Donna Karan International in 1989, working to develop the luxury brand internationally through both wholesale and licensing. 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. In 1998, she joined Fifth & Pacific Companies as vice president of corporate merchandising and design. In 2001, she was promoted to senior vice president of corporate merchandising and group president, responsible for the merchandising of the group's 20 plus brands including Laundry by Shelli Segal, Lucky Brand Dungarees and the men's retail business of

Liz Claiborne Anne Elisabeth Jane Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Her success was built upon stylish yet affordable apparel for career women featuring colorfully tailored separates that cou ...

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.

Burberry

Ahrendts joined Burberry in January 2006, and took up the position of CEO on July 1, 2006, replacing Rose Marie Bravo. She 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 back of the brand's fragrance and beauty product licenses and the buying out of the Spanish franchise which was then generating 20% of group revenues to stop its unfettered licensing. She stated that she did not model her approach after any other fashion house, but looked to world-class design as an influence, including

The company value rose during her tenure from £2 billion to over £7 billion.

CNN Money CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's '' Fortune'' and '' Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of ...

reported that during 2012, she was the highest-paid CEO in the U.K., making $26.3 million.

Apple

On 15 October 2013, it was announced that Ahrendts would leave Burberry in Spring 2014 to join

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 1 May 2014, she was placed on the Apple Leadership roster. According to Apple's 2015 proxy statement filed with the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

, Ahrendts earned over $70 million in 2014, more than any other executive at Apple, including CEO

Tim Cook Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who is the current chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Cook had previously been the company's chief operating officer under its co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined ...

. As of August 2016, she is reported to own approximately US$11 million worth of Apple shares. On 5 February 2019, Apple announced that she would leave the company in April to be replaced by

Deirdre O'Brien Deirdre O'Brien (born ) is an American businesswoman and the Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple Inc. At Apple, Deirdre leads Apple's retail store and online teams. She was ranked 43rd on '' Fortunes list of Most Powerful Women in 2023. ...

Board memberships

Ahrendts is a non-executive board member of

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

Ralph Lauren Corporation Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American publicly traded fashion and lifestyle brand founded in 1967 by Ralph Lauren in New York City. The company markets products in apparel, home, accessories, and fragrances, and is most known for its flagsh ...

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

and Charity: Water. As of 1 July 2020, she is also a non-executive member of the board of

WPP plc WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It is the world's largest advertising company, as of 2023. WPP plc owns many companie ...

Awards and memberships

* 2000: ''Crain's New York'' "Rising Stars 40 under 40" * 2010: Awarded honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Ball State. * 2010–present: Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group, Member * 2010:

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

European Business Leader of the Future * 2010: Oracle World Retail Awards, Outstanding Leadership Award * 2011: St George's Society of New York, Medal of Honor * 2011 (also 2010): ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' Top 50 Women in World Business * 2011: Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Honorary Fellow * 2013: Business of Fashion BoF 500 * 2013
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
a DBE for services to British business. Made substantive in 2023. * 2013 (also 2010, 2011): ''

''s Businesspeople of the Year (2010, 2011, 2013) * 2013: Ranked #4 in ''

''s 2013 top people in business * 2013: ''Financial Times'' Women of 2013 * 2013 (also 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012): ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' 100 Most Powerful Women in the World * 2013: 9th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom by

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

* 2014: ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'' Most Creative People in Business * 2014 (also 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013): ''

''s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business

Personal life

Ahrendts met her husband, Gregg Couch, while they were in

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, and they were high school sweethearts. The couple has three children. When she was working at

, the family lived in a home on an plot west of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Brought up a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, she is still an active

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

Angela Ahrendts
at

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

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Angela Ahrendts
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahrendts, Angela 1960 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen American businesspeople in retailing American chief executives of fashion industry companies American emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Methodists from Indiana American women chief executives Apple Inc. executives Ball State University alumni People from New Palestine, Indiana Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Women corporate executives Burberry people 21st-century British businesswomen 21st-century British businesspeople British businesspeople in retailing British chief executives British women chief executives