Angela Ahrendts comes back to fashion and joins Ralph Lauren’s board

Angela Ahrendts is back to her roots. The executive, currently head of retail at Apple, has been appointed to Ralph Lauren’s board of directors. This is the first foray of Ahrendts into fashion after joining the tech giant. She’s credited for the transformation of Burberry and being a key driver of its growth.

Ralph Lauren, executive president and creative director of the namesake group, has assured that Ahrendts “is an industry and innovation leader with a deep knowledge of luxury retail and an excellent track record in making global brands grow”.

Along with Ahrendts’ appointment, Ralph Lauren has also incorporated to its board Michael George, chief executive officer of technology company Qurate Retail, specialized in data analysis through social media and ecommerce platforms.

Ahrendts is credited for the transformation of Burberry and being a key driver of its growth

The American company is immersed in a new digital strategy. In fact, Ahrendts- and George’s appointments to the board of directors take place only a few months after Ralph Lauren boosted its digital team with Burberry’s previous director of digital marketing and propped up his ecommerce strategy with five new executives.

The company reported a net profit of 121.5 million dollars (97.7 million euros) in the first nine months of its fiscal year, up 16%. Meanwhile, sales fell by 8.5% to 4.653,1 million dollars (3,742.8 million euros).