Angela Ahrendts

Angela Ahrendts
Born	Angela Jean Ahrendts 12 6, 1960
Birthplace	New Palestine, Indiana, U.S.
Nationality	American, British
Occupation	Business executive
Known for	CEO of Burberry (2006–2014), Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple Inc. (2014–2019)
Education	Ball State University (B.S.)
Awards	Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)

Dame Angela Jean Ahrendts DBE (born June 12, 1960) is an American-British business executive whose career has spanned leadership roles across the fashion and technology industries. Born in the small town of New Palestine, Indiana, Ahrendts rose from modest Midwestern origins to become one of the most prominent figures in global retail, serving as chief executive officer of British luxury house Burberry from 2006 to 2014 and then as senior vice president of retail at Apple Inc. from 2014 to 2019. At Burberry, she oversaw a period of significant brand transformation that elevated the company's digital presence and global reputation. Her subsequent move to Apple, where she was the highest-paid executive at the company, marked one of the most closely watched executive transitions between the luxury fashion and consumer technology sectors. Ahrendts was ranked 25th on Forbes 2015 list of the most powerful women in the world, 29th on Fortunes 2014 list of the most powerful women in business, and 9th on the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour 100 Power List of the most powerful women in the United Kingdom. In 2020, she became chair of the board of Save the Children International, and in 2025 she was appointed lead independent director of Ralph Lauren Corporation.

Early Life

Angela Jean Ahrendts was born on June 12, 1960, in New Palestine, Indiana, a small town located east of Indianapolis. She grew up in a large family in rural Indiana, an environment far removed from the world of luxury fashion and technology that would later define her career. According to a profile in The Indianapolis Star, Ahrendts was described as a shy girl from Indiana who went on to achieve remarkable success in the corporate world.

Her upbringing in a small Midwestern community shaped her values and work ethic. Despite growing up in an environment with limited exposure to the fashion industry, Ahrendts developed an early interest in style and design that would guide her career choices. Her trajectory from New Palestine to the upper echelons of global business has been frequently cited as an example of an unconventional path to fashion and technology leadership.

Education

Ahrendts attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where she studied merchandising and marketing. She earned a bachelor's degree from the institution. Ball State University, located approximately an hour's drive from her hometown, provided Ahrendts with a foundation in the business of fashion and consumer goods that would prove instrumental in her subsequent career. Her educational background in merchandising informed her understanding of both the creative and commercial dimensions of the fashion industry, a dual perspective that characterized her approach to leadership at major brands throughout her career.

Career

Early Career in Fashion

After graduating from Ball State University, Ahrendts began her career in the fashion industry. She held positions at several prominent American fashion companies, gaining experience across different aspects of the business. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, she held high-level positions at a number of fashion companies before ascending to her most prominent roles. Her early career provided her with deep expertise in brand management, merchandising, and the operational aspects of running fashion businesses, skills that would later prove central to her success at larger organizations.

A profile in The Wall Street Journal detailed Ahrendts' rise through the fashion industry, highlighting her ability to combine commercial acumen with an understanding of brand identity and consumer desire.

CEO of Burberry (2006–2014)

In 2006, Ahrendts was appointed chief executive officer of Burberry, the iconic British luxury fashion house. Her arrival at Burberry marked the beginning of a transformative era for the brand. When she took the helm, the company was in need of strategic repositioning to reclaim its luxury status and appeal to a new generation of consumers while respecting its heritage.

Under Ahrendts' leadership, Burberry underwent a significant digital transformation that became a case study in how a traditional luxury brand could embrace technology and social media. She championed the use of digital platforms, live-streaming fashion shows, and integrating online and offline retail experiences in ways that were considered innovative for the luxury sector at the time. The Business of Fashion identified Ahrendts as one of the people shaping the global fashion industry, noting her status as one of the world's most high-profile business executives.

Her tenure at Burberry was characterized by a focus on unifying the brand's global image and operations. She worked to streamline the company's product lines, bring licensing agreements back under direct corporate control, and elevate the brand's positioning in the global luxury market. These efforts contributed to substantial growth in Burberry's revenue and market capitalization during her time as CEO.

Ahrendts also placed emphasis on Burberry's British heritage, using it as a central pillar of the brand's marketing and identity strategy. Her approach combined respect for the company's more than 150-year history with a forward-looking digital strategy, a combination that attracted attention from both the fashion industry and the broader business community.

Her work at Burberry earned her recognition from the British government. In 2013, she was made an Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to British business. This honor, typically reserved for British subjects, was conferred on Ahrendts as an American citizen in recognition of her contributions to the British economy and the global standing of a British brand.

During her time leading Burberry, Ahrendts also served on the UK Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group. She was appointed to the council under Prime Minister David Cameron, who reshuffled the advisory group in 2012. The advisory council was later disbanded in 2016 under Prime Minister Theresa May.

A 2025 retrospective by Modaes described Ahrendts as Burberry's "magician," crediting her with working a transformative effect on the British brand during her eight-year tenure as CEO.

Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple (2014–2019)

On October 14, 2013, Apple Inc. announced that it had hired Ahrendts to lead its retail operations, a move that drew significant attention from both the fashion and technology sectors. She formally joined Apple in 2014 with the title of senior vice president of retail and online stores, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. The appointment was notable both for the cross-industry nature of the hire and for the level at which Ahrendts entered the company—she became one of the most senior executives at the world's most valuable technology company.

At Apple, Ahrendts was responsible for the company's retail strategy, overseeing its global network of retail stores as well as its online sales operations. According to Apple's SEC filings, her role encompassed the strategic direction of Apple's physical retail presence and the integration of its online and offline customer experiences.

During her tenure, Ahrendts oversaw a number of significant changes to Apple's retail operations. She introduced the concept of "Today at Apple," a series of in-store educational sessions, creative workshops, and community events designed to transform Apple Stores from simple points of sale into community gathering spaces. This initiative reflected her belief that the future of retail lay in creating experiential environments rather than transactional ones.

Ahrendts also led the redesign and reimagining of several flagship Apple Store locations. In a 2019 interview with Vogue Business, conducted as Apple prepared to unveil a new flagship store at the historic Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C., Ahrendts outlined her vision for Apple's retail future. The article described her approach to addressing what she characterized as a fundamentally broken retail model, emphasizing community, experience, and human connection over traditional sales metrics.

Ahrendts' compensation at Apple made her one of the highest-paid executives in the technology industry. Her total compensation package, which included salary, bonuses, and stock awards, exceeded that of CEO Tim Cook in some years, a fact that drew considerable media attention.

She departed Apple in April 2019, announcing her decision to leave the company after five years in the role. Her departure prompted analysis of her legacy at Apple, with commentators noting both the ambitious scope of her vision for Apple Retail and the challenges inherent in transforming such a large-scale operation.

Post-Apple Career and Board Roles

Following her departure from Apple, Ahrendts moved into a portfolio of board and advisory positions. In November 2020, she was appointed chair of the board of Save the Children International, becoming the first independent chair from outside the Save the Children movement to hold a seat on the SCI/SCA Board. This role represented a shift toward philanthropic and humanitarian engagement, reflecting her interest in leveraging her business experience for social impact.

Ahrendts also joined the board of directors of Ralph Lauren Corporation. In June 2025, the company announced her appointment as lead independent director, an elevated governance role reflecting the board's confidence in her strategic expertise. Reporting on the appointment, Modaes noted that Ralph Lauren was seeking to draw on Ahrendts' experience at both Burberry and Apple as the company pursued its own brand repositioning and transformation strategy.

A 2025 Reuters article examining the trend of executive moves between industries cited the broader pattern of which Ahrendts' career was an early and prominent example—business leaders crossing from fashion and luxury into technology, and vice versa.

Personal Life

Ahrendts holds both American and British connections, having lived in the United Kingdom during her years leading Burberry. She was born and raised in New Palestine, Indiana, and has maintained ties to her Midwestern roots throughout her career.

Her honorary DBE from the British government, conferred in 2013, recognizes her contributions to British business during her tenure at Burberry. As an American citizen, she received the honor in an honorary capacity; the title of Dame is conventionally used only by British subjects, though Ahrendts is often referred to as "Dame Angela Ahrendts" in professional contexts.

Recognition

Throughout her career, Ahrendts has received numerous accolades and distinctions recognizing her influence in business. Among the most notable:

• Forbes Most Powerful Women': Ranked 25th on Forbes 2015 list of the world's most powerful women.
• Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business': Ranked 29th on Fortunes 2014 list of the most powerful women in business.
• BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Power List: Ranked 9th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom.
• Honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE): Conferred in 2013 for services to British business.
• BoF 500: Named to the Business of Fashion 500 list of people shaping the global fashion industry.
• Fast Company: Recognized by Fast Company as a notable business leader.
• UK Prime Minister's Business Advisory Group: Served as a member under Prime Minister David Cameron until the group was disbanded in 2016.

She was also recognized by Women's Wear Daily for her contributions to the fashion industry.

Legacy

Angela Ahrendts' career is notable for spanning two of the most significant industries of the early 21st century—luxury fashion and consumer technology—at the highest levels of executive leadership. Her tenure at Burberry is frequently cited as a defining example of how a heritage luxury brand can be revitalized through digital innovation while maintaining its core identity. The strategies she implemented there, including live-streaming runway shows, embracing social media as a brand-building tool, and integrating online and in-store experiences, influenced the broader luxury industry's approach to digital engagement.

Her move from Burberry to Apple in 2014 represented a notable moment in the convergence of fashion and technology. As one of the first major cross-industry executive hires of its kind, her transition demonstrated the growing recognition that retail leadership in the technology sector could benefit from the brand-building and experiential expertise cultivated in the luxury fashion world. Reuters noted in 2025 that the pattern of CEO moves between industries, of which Ahrendts' career was an early high-profile example, had become an established trend.

Her subsequent appointment as lead independent director of Ralph Lauren Corporation in 2025 further underscored the continued demand for her expertise in brand transformation and repositioning. Modaes reported that Ralph Lauren specifically sought to leverage Ahrendts' combined experience at Burberry and Apple as the American fashion company pursued its own strategic evolution.

Beyond her corporate roles, Ahrendts' appointment as chair of Save the Children International in 2020 reflected a broadening of her leadership into the humanitarian sector, bringing corporate governance experience to one of the world's largest children's charities.