Burberry chief creative officer Christopher Bailey will now be pulling double duty as CEO, as Angela Ahrendts announces her move to Apple.
Ahrendts is joining the tech behemoth as their senior vice-president of retail and online stores, a position that will make her responsible for rejuvenating the “retail experience.” Since taking the job of CEO of Burberry in 2006, Ahrendts is credited with helping the house transition from a stuffy raincoat proprietor to a sexy brand with wider appeal. Both Ahrendts and Bailey will officially assume their new roles in 2014.
This is Apple’s second big-name hire from the fashion world (and their first woman in a senior vice-president role). In July, Apple hired former YSL CEO Paul Deneve to oversee “product development.” The battle between tech companies and fashion houses for design and management talent forecasts an exciting future for the direction of tech, but even more exciting is what Ahrendts’s new gig means for all of us in line at the Genius Bar.
