Starbucks announced, effective 20 Mar. ‘23, Laxman Narasimhan has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer and will join the company’s board of directors. Narasimhan was named incoming CEO on 1 Sep. ‘22 and has ever since been on a training and familiarity process across the world, as ordained by the outgoing CEO, Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz. This is the third time in its history that the Founder has played the role as an operating CEO, the first time when be bought the company and the last two times as a gap-arrangement after the exit of the former leaders. Former CEO Kevin Johnson left the company early 2022 and Shultz took over as CEO on 4 Apr. ‘22.
“Starbucks truly has been my life‘s work – but more than that, it’s always been about the lives of the millions of partners over the years who have proudly worn the green apron and it’s about the hundreds of thousands more who will join Starbucks in the years to come. It’s about every customer who comes through our doors. It’s about the communities our stores call home. Our company is like a river – the stewards of it will change over time, but it’s always growing and changing, carving a new path and moving forward to something better”, wrote Howard Shultz in an internal note to his staff.
He continued, “As I step away, I leave you all as the stewards, in service of all of our partners. They are the heart and soul of our company – the living embodiment of human connection. Through the years, I’ve seen over and over the profound impact our partners have on our customers, from a new parent whose first outing is to a Starbucks to introduce their baby to their favorite barista, to a store where partners learned sign language to better serve a deaf customer, to a widower who said that when he goes to his Starbucks, it may be the only time all week someone greets him by name. Our partners are making a difference in millions of lives a day. Serve them well”.
Starbucks, founded in 1971 in Seattle, USA, operates over 36,000 cafes in over 150 countries worldwide. The coffee chain entered India in 2012 in a JV with the TATA group and currently operates over 350 cafes.
Narasimhan joined the company as incoming CEO on October 1, 2022, bringing nearly 30 year’s of experience leading global consumer goods businesses and advising retail, grocery, restaurant and e-commerce companies. Over the past five months, he has embarked on a unique immersion experience, traveling to work with partners (employees) in over 30 stores, manufacturing plants and in support centers around the world, earning his barista certification along the way. Watch his video experiences here.
“I am humbled to officially step into my role as Starbucks chief executive officer, leading our incredible team of more than 450,000 green apron partners around the world. The foundation Howard has laid – building from scratch an iconic global brand fueled by a lasting passion to uplift humanity – is truly remarkable, and I am honored to have the opportunity to build on this deep heritage,” said Narasimhan. “As a human connection business, we have limitless possibilities to deliver for our partners, our customers, our investors and our communities through every cup and every connection. I am excited to work alongside our partners worldwide to unlock the limitless future of Starbucks.”
Narasimhan grew up in Pune, India and pursued his Engineering from Pune’s COEP Technological University followed by Masters at The Wharton School. He started his work life at McKinsey where he worked for 19 years. Later, he worked in senior roles at Pepsico and was Global Chief Commercial Officer at Pepsico until July 2019. From 2019 till 2022, he was CEO of global health and hygiene giant, Reckitt. He is said to have joined Starbucks at an annual package of USD 1.30 mn. He will also receive $1.5 million cash as signing bonus as well as a replacement equity grant with a target value of $9.25 million, to make up for the incentives he will be forfeiting by bidding adieu to Reckitt Benckiser. Starting in the fiscal year 2023, he will also be eligible for annual equity awards equating to $13.6 million.
We wish the best of luck to Laxman in his new role. India and Indians are proud to see another person of Indian origin helming a global corporation impacting millions of lives and serving billions of customers.
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