Apple will be holding on to its top executives until at least 2019, if the granting of new stock options by the Apple board has anything to do with it.
Angela Ahrendts, Eddy Cue, Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi, CFO Luca Maestri, VP of hardware engineering Daniel Riccio, lawyer Bruce Sewell and COO Jeffrey Williams all received stock grants potentially valued at a total of $27 million, based on the high closing price of AAPL stock Thursday.
UPDATED: We got some comments from Dave Rahimi in Sydney. Blogger Dave Rahimi figured out a clever way to be the first person in the world to buy an iPhone 6.
Rahimi and his girlfriend, Jasmine Juan, flew thousands of miles from California to Sydney, Australia, to purchase the first two iPhone 6s to go on sale worldwide.
The couple just emerged from the Apple Store in Sydney, which was mobbed by a monster crowd of about 2,500 people. Some had camped outside the store for more than a week.
But Rahimi and Juan avoided the crowds and more or less walked right into the store.
Here’s how they did it.
Assimilating into the mothership’s culture isn’t easy (just ask John Browett) but Angela Ahrendts looks well on her way to becoming one of the regulars at Apple HQ.
The recently hired retail chief has only been at Apple for two months, but in a recent blog post, the former Burberry CEO says she’s learned a few tips transitioning from London and the fashion industry to Silicon Valley’s tech scene, and she’s ready to divulge her wisdom to anyone disoriented during the first 90 days of a new job.
Here are three tips she has on how to assimilate and thrive during a transition:
SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts made her first official public appearance as an Apple executive at the Friday opening of Apple’s tony new store in Tokyo, Japan.
Ahrendts posed for photos with fans who had turned up to see the opening of the upscale Omotesando Apple Store. Other Apple execs at the event included Retail Real Estate and Development Vice President Bob Bridger, Worldwide Apple Retail International sales VP Steve Cano and Online Stores VPs Jennifer Bailey and Bob Kupbens.
We get slammed 24/7 with new Apple rumors. Some are accurate, most are not. To give you a clue about what’s really coming out of Cupertino in the future, we’re busting out our rumor debunker each week to blow up the nonsense.
Still stumped what to get your dad for Father’s Day? Apple’s hoping you’ll go big and gift him an iPad Air, but even if you just want to get a sweet iPhone case for the old man the online Apple Store will now ship it to you at no extra cost.
After the retirement of Katie Cotton, the PR who helped craft Apple’s air of mystique, Apple has announced another departure: that of Zane Rowe, who served as the head of North America sales.
The reason for the departure isn’t yet known, but it comes weeks after former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts took over as the new head of retail and online stores. Rowe joined Apple in 2012 from United Continental, where he had been the chief financial officer.
He will be replaced by Doug Beck, who has been key in growing oversees sales in Japan and Korea.
It’s been a long wait for Angela Ahrendts to finally join Apple, but as the new VP of Retail just took office last week, Apple decided to make her move from fashion to tech much sweeter by granting her stock options worth a whopping $68 million.
It took nearly 6 months, but former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts has officially joined Apple as its new Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores. Her bio has been added to Apple’s executive leadership website, making her transition from Burberry complete.
Apple’s incoming SVP of Retail, Angela Ahrendts, is one of Cupertino’s most widely anticipated hires in ages. The CEO of popular fashion chain Burberry, Ahrendts is so well-suited to lead Apple’s retail ambitions, and such a powerhouse executive in her own right, that many have wondered if Tim Cook is planning to have her replace him as CEO when he retires.
But when is Ahrendts going to join Apple officially? She was originally expected this month, but it’s now looking like she might push her start until June.
Why? Why else. Money.
When we think about the iWatch, we tend to think of a little smartphone that you wear on your wrist, or at least a bit of technology, but if the latest reports are anything to go by, Apple’s iWatch play is going to much bigger than that: with the iWatch, Apple intends to do nothing less than conquer the world of fashion, becoming just as synonymous with luxury watches as Rolex. But how?
Apple has bolstered its online retail ranks by hiring former Delta vice president Bob Kupbens. Kupbens joins Apple as its new Vice President of Apple Online Retail.
At Delta, Kupbens was involved with the company’s marketing and digital commerce strategies. Prior to that he pioneered the e-commerce operations at Target.
Apple’s new retail chief (and possible future CEO) Angela Ahrendts has been announced as the recipient of a DBE in the coming weeks — making the American businesswoman a Dame of the British Empire.
While the award was confirmed in October, the information was released quietly and not promoted by either Ahrendts or the British Government.
Apple has too many white men in its upper ranks, say shareholders who are pressuring the company to add more female and minority directors to its board.
In response, Apple has added new language to its board charter claiming that it will consider more candidates who meet this criteria — noting that, “The nominating committee is committed to actively seeking out highly qualified women and individuals from minority groups to include in the pool from which board nominees are chosen.”
The question of whether she lives up to her enthusiastic advance billing as “the most important hire Tim Cook has ever made” and even the “future Apple CEO” is yet to be answered, but one thing’s for certain: outgoing Burberry CEO (and incoming Apple head of retail and online sales) Angela Ahrendts sure sounded like one of the Apple family when summing up her time with the fashion house recently.
Tim Cook caused quite a stir in the worlds of both tech and fashion earlier this year when he announced that Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts would be leaving the famous trench-coat maker to head up Apple’s retail divisions.
Ahrendts new position at Apple alone wields great power, but when you combine it with her incredible turn around of the Burberry brand, its no wonder many are starting to consider her one of the most powerful executives in the world, which is exactly why Fortune placed Ahrendts at #4 of its annual list of the top people in business.
She doesn’t take over at Apple until Spring 2014 but Ahrendts received the nod from the business mag for her work redefining Burberry’s brand and the subsequent 29% bump in the company’s stock price.
Here’s Fortune’s praise for Ahrendts:
Cloud computing giant Marc Benioff has praised hailed Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s new head of retail and online sales, as the “future Apple CEO.” Referring to her in a Tuesday tweet as “the most important hire Tim Cook has ever made”, Benioff’s toasting of Ahrendts has left analysts asking whether it is simply a show of support for Burberry’s outgoing CEO — or evidence that Benioff knows more than he is letting on, following disappointing fourth quarter numbers for Apple.
Until two days ago, Apple had been without a head of retail for nearly a year. As part of the upper-management reshuffling Tim Cook oversaw last October, John Browett was let go after filling the role for only six months. Apple executives reportedly clashed with Browett, who previously had been the CEO of British retailer Dixons, and he didn’t seem to leave Apple on the best of terms.
After a year of searching, Apple has finally found a Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores: Angela Ahrendts, the former CEO of Burberry in Britain. She’s coming to Apple at a very crucial time in the company’s development post-Steve Jobs, and although she’s worked in fashion most of her life, she looks like the perfect fit.
Here are 10 things to know about Angela Ahrendts:
Apple has today announced that Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, will be joining the Cupertino company to take up a newly-created position as senior vice president of retail and online stores. Ahrendts will report directly to CEO Tim Cook and will oversee the strategic direction, expansion, and operation of Apple’s retail business.