Starbucks' new CEO arrives with more power
Starbucks' incoming CEO Brian Niccol will have more power than his predecessor.
Niccol, who is leaving Chipotle Mexican Grill, will become CEO and chairman the moment he joins Starbucks on September 9. By contrast, Laxman Narasimhan spent more than five months as the CEO-in-training under company patriarch Howard Schultz and he never took on the board chairman position. Only after an intense period of shadowing Schultz did he gain the ability to set the company's strategy.
The vastly different handovers underscore the two executives' contrasting resumes-Narasimhan had no restaurant experience while Niccol has spent 20 years as a leader at Chipotle and Yum! Brands.
What's more, Narasimhan joined a company still helmed by Schultz, who set aggressive sales growth targets before handing over the reins. Schultz continued to provide feedback during Narasimhan's tenure, both privately and in public missives on LinkedIn. As problems piled up after Schultz's departure, Narasimhan was forced to cut the company's financial forecasts three times in less than a year.
Niccol steps into a job where sales targets are lower, his title carries more weight, and the shadow of Schultz-while not entirely gone-has diminished.
He «definitely has more authority, and I think that's by design,» said Eric Gonzalez, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets. «His track record speaks for himself. So that just shows you the confidence that they have in him.»
Starbucks is fighting off slumping demand from inflation-battered customers in its
