New Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts Appears on Apple's Leadership Page

[DavidG328]

ok, and now, give us new mac mini!

Cool, nothing to do with the subject. No one cares that you want a Mac Mini. Everyone here already knows people are screaming for one.

 

[MH01]

I still think they're silly and not worthy of front page news. Look at all the ones we got in 2011 and they all turned out to be wrong.

Yeah but we need news to fill in between Angela joining and apple is suing x company

Mind you if the current leak of the iPhone 6 is a fake , it will be very funny....just like the 2011 cases.

 

[Mycoolroy]

PC bull I don't get the feeling that APPLE is the apple of Tim Cooks eye. People may not have liked Steve but, he loved Apple.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

The exec in charge of environment is at least partially black.

Which exec? I don't see any obviously mixed exec, and there's no exec specifically for environment listed on the webpage?

 

[imageWIS]

You need to look closer at Apple's leadership page.

ALL the people on that page are Executives... and ALL of them are Vice Presidents.

That includes Jony Ive.

Facepalm. My point: you totally missed it.

 

[peterdevries]

Facepalm. My point: you totally missed it.

It is you that misses the point. There is no reason whatsoever to create a new functional layer to reward someone's achievements. In addition it would create a whole lot of reporting issues and likely justified dissatisfaction with other board members.

What you fail to realize is that the products we see are the result of the concerted efforts of most people on this board. E.g. the whole product line wouldn't be where it is now if Mansfield wouldn't have revolutionized manufacturing processes and Cook wouldn't have optimized the complete value chain.

 

[Rogifan]

I get your point but it doesn't make sense. There is no reason whatsoever to create a new functional layer to reward someone's achievements. In addition it would create a whole lot of reporting issues and likely justified dissatisfaction with other board members.

What you fail to realize is that the products we see are the result of the concerted efforts of most people on this board. E.g. the whole product line wouldn't be where it is now if Mansfield wouldn't have revolutionized manufacturing processes and Cook wouldn't have optimized the complete value chain.

What manufacturing processes was Mansfield in charge of?

 

[peterdevries]

What manufacturing processes was Mansfield in charge of?

I might have mixed things up, but I was referring to the unibody design.

 

[Rogifan]

I might have mixed things up, but I was referring to the unibody design.

Hmm...I wasn't award that Mansfield was responsible for that. I thought he was responsible for things like Apple's custom SOCs, lightening connector, retina displays, etc. In product videos those are the things Mansfield would typically lak about.

 

[peterdevries]

Hmm...I wasn't award that Mansfield was responsible for that. I thought he was responsible for things like Apple's custom SOCs, lightening connector, retina displays, etc. In product videos those are the things Mansfield would typically lak about.

Maybe, but it doesn't really matter though. My point was that there is no reason why Ive should be elevated to a special position within the organisation.

 

[rdlink]

Johnson was attempting a swan dive into a thimble at JCP. He was trying to completely remake the company, all at once, and with no margin for error, due to the company's poor financial situation from the outset. The real question is why he was hired for such a radical makeover if the board wasn't going to have the stomach for it, or whether Johnson just tried to do too much too quickly. I have heard it told both ways.

Good way to put it. I believe it was the former. The JCP BOD was either delusional when they hired him, or lost their stomach for the admittedly bold gambit a few months into it.

I think JCP will eventually fail, because their model is not sustainable in the current market, and when their aging demographic goes away they will have kissed off the opportunity to become relevant to a younger generation. Heck, I stopped shopping at JCP in the early 90s. It just became too sad.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Good way to put it. I believe it was the former. The JCP BOD was either delusional when they hired him, or lost their stomach for the admittedly bold gambit a few months into it.

I think JCP will eventually fail, because their model is not sustainable in the current market, and when their aging demographic goes away they will have kissed off the opportunity to become relevant to a younger generation. Heck, I stopped shopping at JCP in the early 90s. It just became too sad.

To read about this, it seems some poor execution on Johnson's part was also involved. What he was trying to do might have been effectively impossible, given the company's precarious financial condition. You have to wonder why a person would even take the job. Ego, is my guess. His previous successes probably led him to believe that he could make anything happen.

Obviously JCP is in bad shape, but they've been counted out before and survived. Space for down-market department stores must exist, or Sears would not still be around. I don't see them as being as out of touch with their market as Montgomery-Ward was before their demise. Also in JCP's favor is they are still independent, though that may not last. They could really use a white knight, or maybe going private would give them some breathing space.

 

[SusanK]

So contrary to appearances, Ron Johnson must have failed at Apple, since his prior experience in retail had nothing to do with technology.

Good lieutenants under a great General do not fail

 

[IJ Reilly]

Good lieutenants under a great General do not fail

No, not even when they do.

 

[Rogifan]

Maybe, but it doesn't really matter though. My point was that there is no reason why Ive should be elevated to a special position within the organisation.

Agreed.

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Good lieutenants under a great General do not fail

So what happened to Mark Papermaster then?

 

[IJ Reilly]

So what happened to Mark Papermaster then?

He was a bad lieutenant, obviously. That's how good generalship works a lot of the time.

 

[Rogifan]

He was a bad lieutenant, obviously. That's how good generalship works a lot of the time.

Bad lieutenant hired by the great general.

 

[rdlink]

To read about this, it seems some poor execution on Johnson's part was also involved. What he was trying to do might have been effectively impossible, given the company's precarious financial condition. You have to wonder why a person would even take the job. Ego, is my guess. His previous successes probably led him to believe that he could make anything happen.

Obviously JCP is in bad shape, but they've been counted out before and survived. Space for down-market department stores must exist, or Sears would not still be around. I don't see them as being as out of touch with their market as Montgomery-Ward was before their demise. Also in JCP's favor is they are still independent, though that may not last. They could really use a white knight, or maybe going private would give them some breathing space.

Interesting you mentioned Sears, as I was going to do the same. Though I was going to draw on the differences between Sears and JCP. First of all, Sears is basically surviving in name only, some would say. Kmart has turned many Sears stores into specialty shops, and there have been a number of closings of full service stores. Second, I would say that Sears has two brands that have allowed it to survive beyond it's viability otherwise. One being Kenmore, and the other being Craftsman.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Interesting you mentioned Sears, as I was going to do the same. Though I was going to draw on the differences between Sears and JCP. First of all, Sears is basically surviving in name only, some would say. Kmart has turned many Sears stores into specialty shops, and there have been a number of closings of full service stores. Second, I would say that Sears has two brands that have allowed it to survive beyond it's viability otherwise. One being Kenmore, and the other being Craftsman.

At the time of the K-Mart-Sears merger, the former was still in bankruptcy, so it wasn't ever clear to me that Sears became K-Mart. Just the same, yes, you are right that Sears has those two crown jewels, but even so it isn't enough to sustain the rest of the retail operation beyond tools and appliances, so the others must be at least marginally profitable. Not a healthy company, but a survivor (so far).

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Bad lieutenant hired by the great general.

Ain't in the truth? If a lieutenant doesn't succeed, it was due to a failure to follow orders. If he succeeds, it was on account of inspired leadership. It's nice to be the general.