Editor's note: In honor of the university's centennial year, The Daily News is counting down 100 days to the university's celebration Sept. 6 with 100 of Ball State's most famous traditions and figures. Check back each day to read about Cardinal history.
Angela Ahrendts grew up in New Palestine, Indiana, and graduated from Ball State in 1981 with a degree in merchandising and marketing.
Ahrendts joined Apple in 2014 as the senior vice president of retail. According to the Apple website, she is “responsible for strategy, real estate and development and operations of Apple’s physical stores, Apple’s online store and contact centers.”
Before joining Apple, Ahrendts was across the Atlantic where she was the CEO of Burberry. The luxury clothing brand was founded in 1856 and is based in London.
Ahrendts has also previously served as the president of of Donna Karan International and was the executive vice president of Liz Claiborne Inc.
As the highest paid executive at Apple, Ahrendts earned more than $70 million in 2014. Ahrendts was ranked 13th on Forbes’ 2017 list of the most powerful women in the world.
Ahrendts returned to Muncie in May 2010 to deliver the spring commencement speech.
During her speech, she spoke about her core values and the importance of dream phase of each individual's life.
“The dream phase can also include the occasional nightmare,” Ahrendts said. “That insecure state when some part of your mind conveniently reminds you of everything you don't know, exposing with brutal clarity the full reality of the situation.”
RELATED: Ball State alumna to move from Burberry CEO to Apple senior vice president
Additionally, Ahrendts visited Ball State in 2011 to talk to students and faculty about social media and marketing.
Read more centennial content here.
Contact Andrew Smith with comments at ajsmith15@bsu.edu or on Twitter @AndrewSmithNews.
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