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| Angela Ahrendts leaves Burberry for new job at Apple | |
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| Angela Ahrendts, the chief executive who rescued Burberry, is leaving the fashion house for a new job at Apple, in a move that further depletes the ranks of female chief executives of FTSE 100 firms. | Angela Ahrendts, the chief executive who rescued Burberry, is leaving the fashion house for a new job at Apple, in a move that further depletes the ranks of female chief executives of FTSE 100 firms. |
| Ahrendts joins Apple in spring 2014 to take up a newly created role overseeing the expansion of Apple's retail stores. She is being replaced at Burberry by Christopher Bailey, who will also keep his current post as chief creative officer. | Ahrendts joins Apple in spring 2014 to take up a newly created role overseeing the expansion of Apple's retail stores. She is being replaced at Burberry by Christopher Bailey, who will also keep his current post as chief creative officer. |
| Her departure comes amid growing concern about the small number of female executives at the top of British business, and leaves just two women in charge of the largest UK-listed companies: Alison Cooper at Imperial Tobacco and Carolyn McCall of easyJet. Their number has been depleted by the departure of Marjorie Scardino from Pearson and Cynthia Carroll from Anglo American. | Her departure comes amid growing concern about the small number of female executives at the top of British business, and leaves just two women in charge of the largest UK-listed companies: Alison Cooper at Imperial Tobacco and Carolyn McCall of easyJet. Their number has been depleted by the departure of Marjorie Scardino from Pearson and Cynthia Carroll from Anglo American. |
| Ahrendts, who was the highest paid chief executive in the FTSE last year with a total package worth £16.9m, said she was honoured to be joining Apple. | Ahrendts, who was the highest paid chief executive in the FTSE last year with a total package worth £16.9m, said she was honoured to be joining Apple. |
| She also paid tribute to colleagues, describing Burberry as a truly great company: "Burberry is in brilliant shape, having built the industry's most powerful management team, converted the business to a dynamic digital global retailer, created a world-class supply chain, state of the art technology infrastructure, sensational brand momentum and one of the most closely connected creative cultures in the world today." | She also paid tribute to colleagues, describing Burberry as a truly great company: "Burberry is in brilliant shape, having built the industry's most powerful management team, converted the business to a dynamic digital global retailer, created a world-class supply chain, state of the art technology infrastructure, sensational brand momentum and one of the most closely connected creative cultures in the world today." |
| Bailey said he was moved and humbled to take on the CEO role. "Whilst I am sad no longer to have the inspirational leadership of Angela, who has been an absolute joy to work with, I feel more than confident that part of her legacy is an enormously strong team in all of our areas." | Bailey said he was moved and humbled to take on the CEO role. "Whilst I am sad no longer to have the inspirational leadership of Angela, who has been an absolute joy to work with, I feel more than confident that part of her legacy is an enormously strong team in all of our areas." |
| Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, said he was thrilled that Ahrendts would be joining his team. "She has shown herself to be an extraordinary leader throughout her career and has a proven track record." | Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, said he was thrilled that Ahrendts would be joining his team. "She has shown herself to be an extraordinary leader throughout her career and has a proven track record." |
| Shares in Burberry fell 5.5% at the start of trading, down 93p to £14.92. | Shares in Burberry fell 5.5% at the start of trading, down 93p to £14.92. |
| Ahrendts is not the first fashion executive to join the ranks of the iPhone maker. Paul Deneve, the former chief executive officer of Yves St Laurent, was hired recently to work on special projects. | Ahrendts is not the first fashion executive to join the ranks of the iPhone maker. Paul Deneve, the former chief executive officer of Yves St Laurent, was hired recently to work on special projects. |
| The announcement of her departure came as Burberry announced a 17% rise in revenues over the six months to the end of September to £694 m. Sales in Burberry shops rose 13% on last year, driven by consumers in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, and the Americas. The company, which is popular with Chinese consumers, reported high single-digit growth in mainland China, while European stores saw high footfall from tourists. | |
| Burberry's global success is a far cry from when Ahrendts joined the board in 2006, when the fashion house's signature check had become ubiquitous among celebrities, while cheap fakes flooded the market. One of Ahrendt's first acts when she took over in 2006 was to scale back use of the Burberry check. She also took the 157-yr old fashion house into new products from animal print scarves to own-brand cosmetics, as well as expanding its presence in the United States. | |
| Bailey, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, has been at Burberry since 2001. He is credited with overseeing a canny social media strategy that has seen Burberry become the first big fashion house to steam its catwalk shows live over the internet, as well as launching 'The Art of the Trench' website for fans of Burberry macs. The firm has said it has no plans to bring in a new creative director to work with Bailey. | |
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