Starbucks announced yesterday that Laxman Narasimhan will be the company’s next CEO and board member, Oct. 1. He will work closely with interim CEO Howard Schultz until April 1, 2023.
Narasimhan will leverage his almost 30 years of experience leading consumer-facing brands. He comes to Starbucks after serving as CEO of Reckitt, a consumer health, hygiene, and nutrition company. In this role, he led the business through strategic transformation initiatives.
On the food and beverage side, Narasimhan has held many leadership roles at PepsiCo, including as global chief commercial officer, and CEO of the company’s Latin America, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa operations.
“[Narasimhan’s] deep, hands-on experience driving strategic transformations at global consumer-facing businesses makes him the ideal choice to accelerate Starbucks' growth and capture the opportunities ahead of us,” said Mellody Hobson, Independent Starbucks board of directors chair, in a statement. “His understanding of our culture and values, coupled with his expertise as a brand builder, innovation champion, and operational leader will be true differentiators as we position Starbucks for the next 50 years, generating value for all our stakeholders.”
In addition to mentoring Narasimhan during the transition period, Schultz will remain an ongoing advisor and continue his role on the board of directors. Both will work on a reinvention plan to innovate Starbucks’ operations. This entails Starbucks store immersions, visiting manufacturing plants and coffee farms, connecting with partners, and more.
“I am humbled to be joining this iconic company at such a pivotal time, as the reinvention and investments in the partner and customer experiences position us to meet the changing demands we face today and set us up for an even stronger future,” said Narasimhan in a statement. “I look forward to working closely with Howard, the Board, and the entire leadership team—and to listening and learning from Starbucks partners—as we collectively build on this work to lead the company into its next chapter of growth and impact.”
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