Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts posts holiday message of 'hope and peace'
Angela Ahrendts has just posted a new post on her LinkedIn blog as the Apple retail chief seeks to deliver a message of “hope and peace” this holiday season.
In the post (via 9to5Mac), she shares how she was reminded recently of an old song from her childhood, the classic Christmas song “Let There Be Peace On Earth” as performed by B.J. Thomas (embedded below), which she used to play on the piano in her youth.
“Amid all the turmoil in the world today,” she writes, “hearing the lyrics again really hit home.”
In particular, Ahrendts calls attention to the line from the song after which her post is titled, “Let peace begin with me,” which she says is a “universal leadership lesson to share and reflect on at this time of year”:
I thought, I want my kids, my friends and family to hear this song. I want coworkers, partners, acquaintances to hear it. I just felt this overwhelming desire for more people to hear this wonderful message. After all, as leaders of families, households, businesses and communities, we all know the power of uniting people around strong, simple, positive messages.
If you can’t see the slide embedded above, please click here.
In closing, along with a holiday greeting, Ahrendts writes that “There’s no better gift to give than one of hope and peace.”
This is Ahrendts’ first post on her LinkedIn blog since she published a piece titled “Starting Anew,” in which she shared some professional and personal insights into her transition from CEO of Burberry in London to SVP of Retail and Online Stores at Apple in Cupertino.
Angela Ahrendts was officially appointed as the retail head of Apple at the beginning of May.
Since then, she has initiated multifaceted plans for a major restructuring of the company’s stores and participated in the grand openings of some of Apple’s new retail locations (including the pictured store in Omotesando, Tokyo).
She sent her first memo to Apple’s retail staff in June, suggesting that they work together to continue making customers “want to feel surprised and delighted by the personalized Apple experience we provide at every turn.”
Several days ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a company-wide holiday email in which he looked back on Apple’s “most innovative lineup ever” and acknowledged the work of Apple’s employees throughout the year.
See also: AppGuide’s Shopping apps, Christmas on the iPad and New Year’s apps AppLists.
