The career rise of Angela Ahrendts, from a small town in Indiana to becoming the highest-paid executive at Apple (AAPL)
- Angela Ahrendts currently serves as Apple's head of retail.
- She didn't take a typical path into the tech world — her last role was as CEO of Burberry.
- But Ahrendts is now the highest-paid executive at Apple, earning almost double what CEO Tim Cook makes.
- Here's how she rose from a small town in Indiana to an executive position at Apple.
Angela Ahrendts may not have taken a typical path into the tech world, but she's quickly become one of the most important and highest-paid executives at Apple.
Ahrendts joined Apple in 2014 as its head of retail, filling a position that had been vacant for more than a year. At the time, the tech world was surprised. Ahrendts didn't have a background in tech and previously had been her own boss; she joined Apple from British fashion house Burberry, where she had served as CEO for eight years.
But Apple obviously appreciates her. Four years after she joined, Ahrendts gets almost double the compensation of Apple CEO Tim Cook. She's also the only female senior executive at the iPhone maker.
Here's how Ahrendts rose from her origins in a small town outside Indianapolis to becoming an executive at the most valuable company in the world.
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Ahrendts grew up in New Palestine, Indiana.
Ahrendts was one of six kids in her family. She was a cheerleader in high school and played tennis and volleyball. She also did gymnastics.
Ahrendts' athletic prowess may in part be due to her height — she's just under six feet tall.
Source: The Indianapolis Star
As a kid, Ahrendts sewed her own clothes and dreamed of joining the fashion industry.
"It was always fashion. If you read my high school yearbook, I was [someone] who at 16 knew exactly what I was going to do," she told The Guardian.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian
Ahrendts attended Ball State University in Indiana. The day after her final exams, she moved to New York City, leaving on a one-way ticket.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
See the rest of the story at Business Insider