A key figure in achieving Apple’s ground-breaking retail store concept is now consulting with Microsoft on that company’s retail stores, the first of which are expected to open this fall. George W. Blankenship, 56, joined Apple in 2000, and his 20 years of experience as Gap Inc.’s vice president of real estate strategy helped fulfill the original concept developed by Apple Sr. V-P Retail Ron Johnson–position the stores at upscale, high-traffic locations to attract customers. As first reported by TechFlash, Microsoft has hired Blankenship to provide consulting services for its retail team, although the company refuses to say exactly what work he is performing. The consulting arrangement is probably meant to work around the non-competitive agreement (NCA) that Apple executives routinely sign when leaving the company. Much of the data that Blankenship might use to pick Microsoft store locations is held by third parties, so he won’t be handicapped by any NCA. As well, Blankenship’s assistance to Microsoft won’t create any peril for Apple, since after eight years of developing new Apple stores, the formula is hardly proprietary.
Blankenship was among the earliest of Apple’s retail store employees, arriving shortly after Johnson. He was there when Johnson began to clarify his vision of how the stores would operate and what they would look like, and where they should be located.