Apple appoints former Burberry CEO as retail and online leader

During yesterday’s second quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company’s new retail and online leader, Angela Ahrendts, will be joining the company next week. Ahrendts first resigned from British luxury fashion house Burberry in October of 2013, but was contractually obligated to stay on with the company for another six months. As of April, she became free to leave to join Apple. 

Apple’s new retail chief Angela Ahrendts is going to start officially at the company officially beginning next week, CEO Tim Cook revealed on the company’s earnings call today. Ahrendts comes from Burberry, and her move to Apple was announced in October of last year, but she hadn’t yet begun in her new role yet. A report from last year suggested that Ahrendts might be delaying her start at Apple until halfway through this year, with the main factor cited being a bonus she would receive at Burberry mid-year. Cook’s statement disproves this earlier report. Ahrendts will occupy an SVP role at Apple, and is the first retail head since Apple dropped former Dixons CEO John Browett in 2012.