Speculation increases over Angela Ahrendts's start date as head of Apple Retail

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 74
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    canukstorm wrote: »
    She's definitely better to look at, at least.

    And she's married, with three kids. Not bad at balancing her work and life.
  • Reply 22 of 74
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Tim is improving a bit, but his presentation skills don't concern me as long as he has a great speaker like Craig Federighi to take up the slack.

    I watch a lot of companies do presentations, and even without Jobs, Apple is, by far, the best of them. Tim is, from reports, a shy person. Jobs wasn't. He's been taking lessons on presenting. And he does give Shiller and the rest more time than Jobs did except when he was sicker, and too weak to be up there too long, sadly.

    I've seen her give some speeches on YouTube, and she looks pretty good. We'll just have to see how she does here.
  • Reply 23 of 74
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post





    We're going to assume she understands retail. I'd say she was offered the job and couldn't resist. It's pretty much the most exciting retail job on earth right now and she knows that I'm sure. And she'll probably end up making more money at Apple too.



    And from Apple's standpoint I'd bet their looking to people that have past experience doing a good job managing lots of people. God knows what they were thinking hiring the guy who ran Dixons though.



    There have been multiple articles re. Angela Ahrendts in the press, both mainstream and Apple-centric, describing her success in turning around and greatly expanding Burberry, public speaking acumen, weaving together Burberry's retail outlets with technology and social media, expansion of retail outlets in Asia, etc. etc. etc. There's also a TED-talk she gave that's available on YouTube, as well as other talks/speeches. I think the NYTimes or Wash. Post did a feature on her shortly after the Apple hire became known. Ahrendts is the one that got Apple to cough up a slew of the 5s iPhones ahead of the product launch so they could be used to film the Burberry runway show.

  • Reply 24 of 74
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by melgross View Post





    She's likely a lot smarter than any of us. Big business operates in ways that are different from what you may think. Even with my own, much smaller, companies, I've hired people who needed to wait for a bonus. It happens. It isn't the end of the world. You're acting as if this means much. It's only another four to six weeks. Not much.

    Trust me I work for some very large companies and I would tell you if someone told me they were delaying their start for a few months to get a bonus I would tell them the offer expires midnight tomorrow.  It is short sighted, since you know she going to make a lot more at Apple, just look as her pay now and what any exec at Apple gets paid. 

     

    I personally left money on a the table going to another company since future potential was better than worrying about they I could have made at the previous company. 

     

    Also, I would image her contract probably has language in to that said they she would get all or portion of that bonus even if she left early. I world for a company which Bonuses were prorated base on how long you were there during the bonus period. I a know people who left and still got the bonus which was due to them.

     

    Again it does not seem to add up.

  • Reply 25 of 74
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    I would just like to point out that spring isn't "widely regarded to end in May". Here, at least, spring ends June 21. As Apple often make announcements such as: ---- product will come out in the spring, or in the winter, or in the first quarter, or in the third quarter, etc., and then it comes out on the very last day of that period, I think we can safely say that she is on track to meet her commitment if she gets here in late June. All of what we are reading about this is speculation. If the British want to think spring is widely understood to end a month before it ends, that's fine with me.

    I would imagine that all of this was ironed out when she and Apple first began their negotiations, and this isn't something that just now cropped up. That's not even within the wildest possibility. These things are choreographed very carefully when at such a high level.
  • Reply 26 of 74
    thomprthompr Posts: 1,521member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post





    I stand by my theory. Apple hasn't been hiring any other world-class CEOs recently.

     

    Apple is much much larger than Burberry, and the skill-set required to run it is quite different.  As you know, retail is but a subset of all that is Apple - an important one, no doubt.  Ms. Ahrendts should be proud to make a move from lauded CEO of a tiny company (relative to Apple) to a high level executive in charge of retail at a behemoth like Apple.  

     

    My belief is that they hired Ms Ahrendts to do exactly what they say:  run retail, which her skill-set seems to match well... including online presence, unlike her predecessor (who was also a CEO of a retail company when he was brought on).  If your theory is that Apple is looking to her as Tim Cook's understudy for an eventual succession, well I would say that its unlikely to be a thought that is foremost in their minds right now.  Those thoughts would wait until she actually gets there and they find out what she can really do in Apple's universe.  It would be more of a thing like, "well, hopefully she is awesome at her new job, and we'll see how it goes from there."  Pretty much like any high level hire that they make.

     

    Besides which, there is entirely too much talk out there about possible Tim Cook replacements.  The man is doing an awesome job.  As good as anyone else could have done under these unique circumstances - including Steve.  I really don't believe that the board is gnashing their teeth over Apple's failure to increase the stock price over the last year and a half.  They are probably privy to some of the plans that Tim will unload on the rest of us in the next year or so.  I'm sure they are impressed and willing to wait until things are right and ready.

     

    Thompson

  • Reply 27 of 74
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    maestro64 wrote: »
    Trust me I work for some very large companies and I would tell you if someone told me they were delaying their start for a few months to get a bonus I would tell them the offer expires midnight tomorrow.  It is short sighted, since you know she going to make a lot more at Apple, just look as her pay now and what any exec at Apple gets paid. 

    I personally left money on a the table going to another company since future potential was better than worrying about they I could have made at the previous company. 

    Also, I would image her contract probably has language in to that said they she would get all or portion of that bonus even if she left early. I world for a company which Bonuses were prorated base on how long you were there during the bonus period. I a know people who left and still got the bonus which was due to them.

    Again it does not seem to add up.

    I don't care who you work for. Names unknown. But I do know that his isn't uncommon. And it's not a last minute decision, as I made clear in my post above this response to you. If a company has a deadline for a hire, and that hire isn't very important, then it would kill the deal. But if the hire is important, and they are going to wait six months for that hire to appear, another few weeks isn't going to make a bit of a difference. And I don't believe for one minute, that all of this wasn't known, and accounted for in the very beginning. Remember, this is all just speculation by the paper.
  • Reply 28 of 74
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Maestro64 View Post

     

    Trust me I work for some very large companies and I would tell you if someone told me they were delaying their start for a few months to get a bonus I would tell them the offer expires midnight tomorrow.  It is short sighted, since you know she going to make a lot more at Apple, just look as her pay now and what any exec at Apple gets paid. 

     

    I personally left money on a the table going to another company since future potential was better than worrying about they I could have made at the previous company. 

     

    Also, I would image her contract probably has language in to that said they she would get all or portion of that bonus even if she left early. I world for a company which Bonuses were prorated base on how long you were there during the bonus period. I a know people who left and still got the bonus which was due to them.

     

    Again it does not seem to add u


     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by melgross View Post



    I would just like to point out that spring isn't "widely regarded to end in May". Here, at least, spring ends June 21. As Apple often make announcements such as: ---- product will come out in the spring, or in the winter, or in the first quarter, or in the third quarter, etc., and then it comes out on the very last day of that period, I think we can safely say that she is on track to meet her commitment if she gets here in late June. All of what we are reading about this is speculation. If the British want to think spring is widely understood to end a month before it ends, that's fine with me.



    I would imagine that all of this was ironed out when she and Apple first began their negotiations, and this isn't something that just now cropped up. That's not even within the wildest possibility. These things are choreographed very carefully when at such a high level.



    Agreed! This AI article is based on speculation from the British tabloids, which aren't exactly known for their subtlety and caution. The Guardian's not so coy title on the article: Doubt over leaving date for outgoing boss at Burberry

  • Reply 29 of 74
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post





    Tim is improving a bit, but his presentation skills don't concern me as long as he has a great speaker like Craig Federighi to take up the slack.

    You clearly haven't heard a truly "great speaker" if you think Craig Federighi is.  Is he a great speaker for a software engineer?  Absolutely.  But he ain't Zig Zigler.

  • Reply 30 of 74
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member


    Agreed! This AI article is based on speculation from the British tabloids, which aren't exactly known for their subtlety and caution. The Guardian's not so coy title on the article: Doubt over leaving date for outgoing boss at Burberry

    Also, there's a difference between when a person leaves a company, and when they arrive at their new one. That date doesn't have to be the same. Many times, they take a week or two of vacation in between, to clear their head.
  • Reply 31 of 74
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    andysol wrote: »
    You clearly haven't heard a truly "great speaker" if you think Craig Federighi is.  Is he a great speaker for a software engineer?  Absolutely.  But he ain't Zig Zigler.

    Have you watched Samsung's presentations, or Microsoft's, or that of HTC? How many truly great speakers are there in any generation? Everything is in comparison with others. Compared to most others, he's great. So is Shiller, and others.
  • Reply 32 of 74
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    melgross wrote: »
    I would just like to point out that spring isn't "widely regarded to end in May". Here, at least, spring ends June 21. As Apple often make announcements such as: ---- product will come out in the spring, or in the winter, or in the first quarter, or in the third quarter, etc., and then it comes out on the very last day of that period, I think we can safely say that she is on track to meet her commitment if she gets here in late June. All of what we are reading about this is speculation. If the British want to think spring is widely understood to end a month before it ends, that's fine with me.

    I would imagine that all of this was ironed out when she and Apple first began their negotiations, and this isn't something that just now cropped up. That's not even within the wildest possibility. These things are choreographed very carefully when at such a high level.

    Not just the British. The summer solstice has been known as "Midsummer's Day" for thousands of years all over Europe. As far as I can tell, it's only US weather presenters on TV who seriously promote the solstices as the "first day" of winter or summer
  • Reply 33 of 74
    Apple's been tapping the CEO ranks of the business world to fill VP positions.  So this doesn't necessarily imply they are interested in her as a successor, but rather are interested in acquiring CEO-level talent to run a part of apple's business with revenues larger than many S&P 500 companies. 

    Maybe it was a lesson learned from the Browett fiasco. I'm sure others at Apple were thinking "WTF?" when Cook hired him.
  • Reply 34 of 74
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    thompr wrote: »
    Apple is much much larger than Burberry, and the skill-set required to run it is quite different.  As you know, retail is but a subset of all that is Apple - an important one, no doubt.  Ms. Ahrendts should be proud to make a move from lauded CEO of a tiny company (relative to Apple) to a high level executive in charge of retail at a behemoth like Apple.  

    My belief is that they hired Ms Ahrendts to do exactly what they say:  run retail, which her skill-set seems to match well... including online presence, unlike her predecessor (who was also a CEO of a retail company when he was brought on).  If your theory is that Apple is looking to her as Tim Cook's understudy for an eventual succession, well I would say that its unlikely to be a thought that is foremost in their minds right now.  Those thoughts would wait until she actually gets there and they find out what she can really do in Apple's universe.  It would be more of a thing like, "well, hopefully she is awesome at her new job, and we'll see how it goes from there."  Pretty much like any high level hire that they make.

    Besides which, there is entirely too much talk out there about possible Tim Cook replacements.  The man is doing an awesome job.  As good as anyone else could have done under these unique circumstances - including Steve.  I really don't believe that the board is gnashing their teeth over Apple's failure to increase the stock price over the last year and a half.  They are probably privy to some of the plans that Tim will unload on the rest of us in the next year or so.  I'm sure they are impressed and willing to wait until things are right and ready.

    Thompson
    Watch the recent episode of MacBreak Weekly. Both Andy Ihnatko and Rene Ritchie said from what they've heard, no one inside Apple is trying to claim the Steve Jobs mantle. I'm sure some would find that worrying, that Apple needs a "visionary". But personally I think the executives at Apple know Steve can't be replaced and they're not trying to groom any one person to be the next Steve. I hope when Angela starts she's able to do her job and doesn't have to deal with any noise about if she's being groomed to take over the
    CEO role.
  • Reply 35 of 74
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by melgross View Post





    Also, there's a difference between when a person leaves a company, and when they arrive at their new one. That date doesn't have to be the same. Many times, they take a week or two of vacation in between, to clear their head.

     

    And with 3 school-aged children and husband, moving back to the US after 8 yrs living in the UK is in the mix as well. At the time of the announcement from Apple last fall, Ahrendts was described as Tim Cook's most important hire. I somehow doubt anyone at Apple is currently pacing the floor and clock watching, waiting for her to appear.

  • Reply 36 of 74
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    flaneur wrote: »
    Not just the British. The summer solstice has been known as "Midsummer's Day" for thousands of years all over Europe. As far as I can tell, it's only US weather presenters on TV who seriously promote the solstices as the "first day" of winter or summer

    It doesn't matter. She is going to work for Apple. And spring ends June 21.
  • Reply 37 of 74
    I love the phrase that spring "is widely regarded as ending in May". Since Summer starts on June 21 this year, I'm wondering to what season those interim 3 weeks are to be assigned...
  • Reply 38 of 74
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by melgross View Post





    Have you watched Samsung's presentations, or Microsoft's, or that of HTC? How many truly great speakers are there in any generation?

    Ive seen the Samsung mess-up with Michael Bay.  but to answer your question- Nope.  And I'm a tech fan.  I would venture to say the majority of people who watch those are developers or nerds.  Whereas Apple has developers, nerds, and plenty of fans that watch.

    I didn't argue that Craig wasn't better than any speaker samsung, MS, or HTC has.  I'm simply stating he's not a great speaker. Not by any means. 

    To answer your 2nd question- thousands upon thousands.  Now if you were to ask how many software engineers are there that are solid speakers? I'd say one.  Craig. 

  • Reply 39 of 74
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Nightwriter927 View Post

     

    Agreed! This AI article is based on speculation from the British tabloids, which aren't exactly known for their subtlety and caution. The Guardian's not so coy title on the article: Doubt over leaving date for outgoing boss at Burberry


     

    The Guardian is not a tabloid, unless you count breaking the News Corp. phone hacking scandal, PRISM, and the Edward Snowden revelations as "tabloid journalism."

  • Reply 40 of 74
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    andysol wrote: »
    Ive seen the Samsung mess-up with Michael Bay.  but to answer your question- Nope.  And I'm a tech fan.  I would venture to say the majority of people who watch those are developers or nerds.  Whereas Apple has developers, nerds, and plenty of fans that watch.
    I didn't argue that Craig wasn't better than any speaker samsung, MS, or HTC has.  I'm simply stating he's not a great speaker. Not by any means. 
    To answer your 2nd question- thousands upon thousands.  Now if you were to ask how many software engineers are there that are solid speakers? I'd say one.  Craig. 

    Obviously, when I was talking about great speakers, I meant those who matter to industry, not those who win contests in high school or college. There's a big difference in having people at the top of a profession who can get up and speak well about what they are doing, and those who can get up and ramble about much of nothing. It's a real art to be able to convey information about something, which getting people interested, and talking about a book.

    And it's not just nerds who watch these things, but financial people too, and no, they are not nerds, not by the meaning that most of us understand. My wife watches, and she's anything but a nerd.

    He can be exciting up there, and that's what being a really good speaker is all about. Maybe he doesn't excite you, and that's fine, but you likely think of yourself as jaded.
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