Deidre O'Brien to head Apple's Retail and People as SVP, as Angela Ahrendts departs

It is a bit of a bombshell shake-up at Cupertino as Apple announced that Deirdre O’Brien is taking on new responsibilities for Apple’s retail and online stores in an expanded role as senior vice president of Retail + People, reporting to CEO Tim Cook.

O'Brien will take over from Angela Ahrendts, who is leaving the company after five years of leading the company’s retail and online stores, Angela Ahrendts who was CEO of Burberry before joining Apple, was a prime acquisiton and led the company's foray into more fashionable products and retail stores.

Many insiders believed Ahrendt's was being groomed for a bigger role at Apple, possibly even as CEO of the global brand post Tim Cook.  

In her expanded role, O'Brien will bring her three decades of Apple experience to lead the company’s global retail reach, focused on the connection between the customer and the people and processes that serve them. She will continue to lead the People team, overseeing all People-related functions, including talent development and Apple University, recruiting, employee relations and experience, business partnership, benefits, compensation, and inclusion and diversity. 

“At Apple, we believe our soul is our people, and Deirdre understands the qualities and strengths of our team better than anyone,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “For more than three decades, she has helped keep Apple focused on serving customers and enriching lives. She’s an exceptional leader and she’s been a vital partner to our retail teams around the world since the very beginning. I am thrilled to work alongside Deirdre in her new role, and I know our 70,000 retail employees will be, too.”