Tech Crush Thursday: Angela Ahrendts
Our latest tech crush is Angela Ahrendts, digital innovator and CEO of luxury brand Burberry.
In 2006, giving up her title as Executive Vice President at Liz Claiborne Inc., Angela became CEO of Burberry. While she does not have an educational background in technology, Angela saw that to help the British brand grow and reach the younger generation, she would need to implement a digital initiative. Angela had a vision she wanted to see come true: anyone who wanted to touch the company could have access to it. Since she arrived in 2006, she started reinventing the Burberry image, making it more appealing to a younger and more global consumer. This makeover proved to be a good move with sales having more than doubled.
Angela has been working closely with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff to form a technology strategy using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets, as well as software from Salesforce and SAP. Employees are encouraged to use social media throughout the day.
Despite the past aura of exclusivity at Burberry, Angela saw that the way to grow the company was to take them into the future digitally. Burberry is considered one of the top technology-forward companies in the luxury fashion industry. They have high rankings in Facebook and Twitter followers, as well as an impressive and easy to navigate website and great video campaign ads. It all makes sense, as half of their media budget goes to digital.
Watch this interview with Angela to learn more about the Burberry digital initiative and check out some of their films.
