Apple’s soon to be Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts will be honored as a Dame of the British Empire. The 53-year-old Ahrendts, who was born in Indiana, is currently the CEO of Burberry, a luxury British brand established in 1856 that today has 11,000 employees.
Ahrendts will be joined by Melinda Gates, philanthropist and wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The honor will be bestowed upon both women in the coming weeks, according to Vogue.
“Dame” is the female equivalent of knighthood, or being named a “Sir,” in the United Kingdom.
Apple announced last October that Ahrendts would be taking over as head of its retail operations this spring. Ahrendts is currently transitioning from her position at Burberry, where she was named CEO in 2006.
