LOS ANGELES—It wasn’t that long ago for Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was being talked about as a potential successor to current CEO Tim Cook…
LOS ANGELES—It wasn’t that long ago for Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was being talked about as a potential successor to current CEO Tim Cook.
The former Burberry’s CEO joined Apple five years ago to take over its retail division. On Tuesday, Apple announced she was out of a job, with such little fanfare that the headline of the release was about her successor, Deirdre O’Brien, being named the Senior Vice President of Retail + People.
O’Brien is a 31-year Apple veteran who is currently in charge of human resources.
In the release, Ahrendts said she was leaving Apple for “new personal and professional pursuits.”
Daniel Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said the move is a big “surprise,” considering how many thought she was the “heir apparent” to Cook.
