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Starbucks’ new CEO Laxman Narasimhan says he plans to work a half-day shift once a month in one of the company’s stores in an effort to stay close to its culture and customers.
Narasimhan, who took the reins as CEO, said in a letter to Starbucks’ employees that he also expects the company’s leadership team to be connected and engaged in stores.
Having a CEO work in stores is new for Seattle-based Starbucks, but not unprecedented among big companies. DoorDash CEO Tony Xu and his executive team make DoorDash deliveries once a month, for example.
Narasimhan, 55, issued the letter just prior to the company’s annual meeting, which was held virtually. The former PepsiCo executive has spent six months immersing himself in Starbucks, earning his barista certification as well as visiting stores, farms and manufacturing centers across the world.
“I felt it was very important to start as a barista. I wanted to really understand what they do and how they do it,” Narasimhan said in comments emailed to The Associated Press. “I’ve loved and learned so much about the retail experience from working in our stores, and can now make an excellent French press if I do say so myself.”
Narasimhan said he would like to see Starbucks evolve into a more global company, be less wasteful and move with greater speed.
Narasimhan succeeds longtime 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.
Some investors were unhappy with that move, saying Starbucks should have had a more robust succession plan in place when former CEO Kevin Johnson retired April 2022. Among the shareholder proposals investors voted on was one that would require Starbucks’ board to begin succession planning at least three years before an expected transition.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.