Apple announced on Wednesday that Angela Ahrendts, the company's senior vice president of Retail, will depart in April after it has been working there for five years as she seeks "new personal and professional pursuits". Apple's current "Vice President of People" Deirdre O' Brien will take over the position, who will serve as senior vice president of Retail and People, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.
Deirdre O'Brien will focus on the connections between customers and people, as well as the processes that serve them. However, O'Brien will continue to lead the People team, overseeing all People-related functions, which includes 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."According to Apple, Angela Ahrendts joined Apple in 2014 and has been responsible for Apple's Retail business since then, overseeing the launch of the redesigned Apple Store and the improving customer experience over the past few years. One of the biggest achievement she has made was the rollout of Today at Apple, strive to make the Apple Store as part of local community.