Reality TV star-turned-mogul Kim Kardashian has tapped former Apple retail boss Angela Ahrendts for a key role at her private equity firm SKKY Partners.
Ahrendts, 63, will serve as senior operating adviser at SKKY, which is focused on making investments across consumer products, e-commerce, media and entertainment, the Kardashian announced Monday.
The “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star co-founded the firm with ex-Carlyle executive Jay Sammons last fall.
“As we continue to expand SKKY Partners and focus on identifying strategic investment opportunities for the firm, it was the perfect time to have Angela join us,” Kardashian said in a statement on the hire.
“Angela’s wealth of leadership experience and deep understanding of building brands and influencing culture makes her a natural fit for the firm,” she added.
Ahrendts is perhaps best known for leading a major expansion of Apple’s retail store footprint. She was one of the most influential – and highest-paid – executives at Apple prior to her departure in 2019.
At the time, the company said Ahrendts was leaving “for new personal and professional pursuits.”
Prior to joining Apple in 2014, Ahrendts served as CEO of the luxury fashion brand Burberry. During her reign, the company tripled its sales and experienced a fourfold increase in its stock price.
“I look forward to bringing my expertise to the team, along with my experience working with creative business leaders, as we invest in great consumer companies and continue to build a great firm,” Ahrendts said.
In its announcement, SKKY said that Ahrendts “will work hand in hand with Kardashian, Sammons and the rest of the SKKY team to identify and evaluate prospective investment opportunities while serving as a resource for the companies SKKY invests in and, more broadly, will bring her expertise to SKKY to help support the firm’s investments in the next generation of consumer brands.”
Aside from her role at the Kardashian-led investment firm, Ahrendts serves on the board for Ralph Lauren Corporation, Airbnb and WPP.
SKKY Partners has yet to make its first investment, though Kardashian told the Wall Street Journal that it has “narrowed the pool down to brands that [it] really believes have amazing growth potential.”
Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, is also a senior operating adviser at SKKY.
SKKY Partners is just one part of Kardashian’s budding business empire. The mogul’s shapewear brand Skims was valued at $4 billion as of July.
Kardashian is Skims’ largest individual investor, with a 35% stake. Her overall net worth is a whopping $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.
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