Apple has turned to the fashion industry to boost its executive ranks again, hiring Marcela Aguilar as its new director of global marketing Communications. Ms. Aguilar was lured away from The Gap, where she was that retailer's senior global director-marketing communications.
Marcela Aguilar
According to AdAge, which broke the news, Ms. Aguilar got her start in Costa Rica as as receptionist at a local ad agency, but quickly found massive success. She did time at New York ad giant BBDO, where she headed a team for Proctor & Gamble's advertising, and most recently worked for The Gap.
It was at Gap that where she apparently came to Apple's attention, and she was named "a woman to watch" in 2013 by advertising-centric AdAge. She was tasked with rebuilding The Gap's image, and Seth Farbman, chief marketing officer for The Gap, said, "She has been a major part of the journey to return the brand to iconic status.
Mr. Farbman went further, offering her major kudos for her work and congratulating Apple on the hire.
"Apple is getting a tested professional," Mr. Farbman said. "Working on a major American brand like Gap means you are on a big stage, in bright lights, every day. That experience is priceless, and Apple demands people who know how to play at a high level. Also, her experience in simply communicating the value of meaningful design and developing ideas that create an emotion -- rather than just communicate a product benefit -- should serve her well at Apple."
Mr. Aguilar is just one of many fashion hires Apple CEO Tim Cook has made. Chief among them are Burbery CEO Angela Ahrendts to head Apple's retail empire; Paul Deneve, CEO of Yves Saint Laurent for special project; Enrique Atienza, a VP from Levis to be a director in Apple retail; and Musa Tariq, a former Burbery and Nike executive to be Apple's new digital marketing director, to name just a few.