Seattle-based global coffee giant Starbucks announced on Friday, September 2, 2022, the Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan as its new CEO adding to the long list of Indian-origin individuals heading the multi-national goliaths across the world.
Pune University Engineering graduate Laxman Narasimhan has become the chief executive officer-elect of the five-decade-old popular coffee-chain Starbucks Coffee Company, which has 34,000 stores worldwide and is the premier roaster and retailer of speciality coffee.
Narasimhan is set to join as the incoming CEO at the start of October this year, after his relocation from London to Seattle and will work closely with interim chief Howard D. Schultz, before resuming his lead role and joining the Board on April 1, 2023.
The newly-appointed chief Narasimhan brings nearly 30 years of experience in leading and advising global consumer-facing brands. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Reckitt, an FTSE-12 listed Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer goods company offering health, hygiene, and nutrition, where he led the company through a major strategic transformation and a return to sustainable growth.
Narasimhan held various leadership roles at leading global giants including PepsiCo, as its chief commercial officer, where he was responsible for the company’s long-term strategy and digital capabilities.
With his diverse role and responsibilities, Narasimhan held the top offices based in Latin America, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, besides serving as CEO of PepsiCo Latin America, and the CFO of PepsiCo Americas Foods. He was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on its consumer, retail and technology practices across the U.S., Asia and India.
In response to his recent appointment as the CEO of Starbucks, he held, “He was humbled to be joining the iconic company at such a pivotal time, as the reinvention and investments in the partner and customer experiences position it to meet the changing demands, the world is facing today and set us up for an even stronger future.”
“Starbucks’ commitment to uplift humanity through connection and compassion has long distinguished the company, building an unrivalled, globally admired brand that has transformed the way we connect over coffee,” he ascertained.
Besides holding an engineering degree, he has an MA in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute at The University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.
He will receive an initial base salary of USD 1,300,000 per year, and an annual cash incentive target opportunity equal to 200 per cent of his base salary.
Many Indian origins hold top positions across the global corporate arena, in academics, the information technology field as well as scientific research among others.
The list includes Sundar Pichai who heads Google and its parent company Alphabet, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, and Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen.
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world’s largest coffeehouse chain.
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