Starbucks picks new CEO to replace Howard Schultz

Starbucks Corporation announced it has appointed a new chief executive officer who will replace Howard Schultz. The coffeehouse company said that Laxman Narasimhan would take over almost two weeks earlier than planned.

It was suggested that the new CEO was appointed earlier as the outgoing chief Howard Schultz is set to testify before Congress on March 29. He will be appearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in connection with Starbucks’ response to the company-wide unionization campaign of the workers.

Since 2021, more than 280 Starbucks locations have voted to unionize as staff hopes to have better pay, a safer workplace, and better work schedules. Schultz originally refused to testify and said it would be better for the coffee chain’s chief public affairs officer to appear instead because he is better equipped to discuss Starbucks’ labor record but the committee moved to vote to subpoena the interim CEO for him to testify.

In any case, Fox Business reported that Starbucks already revealed in September of last year that Narasimhan had been chosen as a replacement for Schultz. Initially, he was supposed to start his leadership on April 1, but as Schultz is preparing to testify, his appointment was moved, and he already assumed office this week.

Narasimhan was picked after a global search for the executive that will lead Starbucks. He has joined the company in October 2022, and his almost 30 years of experience in global consumer goods, retail, grocery, and restaurant businesses made him the top pick and eventual appointment to the CEO role.

“Laxman’s intensive immersion into the business coupled with his extensive experience as a proven brand builder, innovator, and operator have uniquely prepared him to lead Starbucks into its next phase of growth,” Starbucks chairman of the Independent Board of Directors, Mellody Hobson, said in a press release. “This immersion has deepened Laxman’s understanding of Starbucks' culture and values. In this time of learning and listening, he has already won the hearts and minds of our partners around the world.”