A Hoosier Will Be at the Helm of Burberry:

Angela Ahrendts, a 45-year old from New Palestine, will leave for London next week to begin her stint as CEO of the luxury label company Burberry Group PLC. She will rely on the savvy and aggressive retail style that carried her to the top of the industry's most successful companies, including president of Donna Karan and, most recently, executive vice president of Liz Claiborne.

Ahrendts' salary package at Burberry is worth as much as $27.4 million over three years, including $8 million in cash and restricted stock not linked to her performance. Even so, leaving the job she was "in love with" at Liz Claiborne wasn't easy. She almost turned Burberry's offers down and said this was one of the toughest decisions emotionally that she has had to make in her career.

"One night a little voice in my head said, 'If you don't do this, will it ever come along again?' " Ahrendts said from her home in the Tribeca area of New York City. "There are not a lot of CEO opportunities for women in the world."

She and her husband were high school sweethearts at New Palestine. She left Ball State one class short of a degree to pursue her fashion career in New York City. She later was given an honorary degree.

Source: IndyStar

Posted by Lawren at December 19, 2005 07:41 AM | Trackbacks (0)

You Said