Starbucks now officially has a new CEO, as Laxman Narasimhan has taken on the role of CEO and joined the company’s board of directors. Narasimhan succeeds long-time Starbucks leader Howard Schultz, who came out of retirement last spring to serve as interim CEO while the company searched for a new chief executive.
Schultz will remain on the company’s board. Starbucks announced last September that Narasimhan would become its new CEO. Narasimhan, 55, most recently served as CEO of Reckitt, a UK-based consumer health, hygiene, and nutrition company. Before this, he was a long-time executive at PepsiCo.
Since he was named the incoming CEO, Narasimhan said he was humbled as he stepped into his new role. “The foundation Howard has laid – creating an iconic global brand from the ground up fuelled by a lasting passion to uplift humanity – is truly remarkable, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to build on this deep heritage,” Narasimhan said.
Narasimhan is scheduled to lead Starbucks’ annual meeting on Thursday. In his year as interim CEO, Schultz has announced hundreds of millions in investments to improve worker pay and benefits and revamp Starbucks’ North American stores. The company posted record sales in its most recent quarter, which ended January 1.
But Schultz also faced a growing unionization effort at its US stores, which the company opposes. Schultz is scheduled to testify on March 29 before a Senate committee examining the company’s labour record.