Photo: LUKE MACGREGOR/Corbis.Angela Ahrendts, Burberry CEO and soon-to-be retail chief at Apple, can now add a new title to her list of credentials. Ahrendts is to be been made a Dame of the British Empire.
She will share this accolade with Melissa Gates, the businesswoman and wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. As both Ahrendts and Gates are non-British nationals, they will not receive the honor from the Queen, but from a government official, which seems a shame in our books. Who doesn't want to shake the hand of HRH?
The Guardian reports a minister at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills will present Ahrendts with the award for her outstanding services to business. And, while that may not carry the cache of an intimate tête-à-tête with the Queen of England, it is apt that she receive recognition from this particular department. After all, it is Ahrendts, alongside Christopher Bailey, who transformed a traditional and — dare we say it — fusty gentleman’s outfitter into a global, luxury, fashion brand respected and championed the world over. We’re sure Apple will also reap the benefits of her exceptional business acumen when she joins the company later in the year. Brava! (Vogue)