Angela Ahrendts, the newly appointed retail chief of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been granted with 113,334 restricted stock units (RSUs) based on a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The restricted stock units awarded to Ahrendts is worth approximately $68 million based on the closing price of the shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) at $600.96 per share on Monday. It is the first time for the shares of the iPhone maker to reach a $600 stock price since October 2012. Ahrendts replaced John Browett who resigned as head of the retail unit at Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) around that period.
Based on the regulatory filing, the restricted stock units awarded to Ahrendts will vest in different schedules within four years from June 1, 2014 until June 14, 2018. Some of the restricted stock units depends on the performance of the company during the vesting period.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced the appointment of Ahrendts as senior vice president of retail and online stores in October last year, but she started her role with the tech giant on May 1. Prior to joining the iPhone maker, Ahrendts served as CEO of Burberry Group Plc (LON:BRBY), and she is one of the highest paid executives in the United Kingdom.
Ahrendts is the first women to appointed by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to join its executive team in almost a decade. She will be responsible in supervising the company’s 423 retail stores with approximately 42,400 staff. The tech giant previously announced that it will open 30 new retail stores this year.
The financial performance of the retail stores of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined from its $29.4 million average revenue per store in the first half of 2013 to $29.1 million in the first half of its current fiscal year due to the absence of a permanent executive leading the business unit. The revenue of the retail stores accounts 11% of Apple’s total revenue.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a record of providing generous compensation for its executives. According to Equilar Inc., a compensation research firm, some of the top paid executives of the tech giant include its General Counsel Bruce Sewell and Operations Chief Jeffrey Williams.
