Brian Niccols, CEO of Starbucks, use with CNBC on Oct. 31, 2024.
CNBC
Starbucks announced another stage in its leadership shake-up on Tuesday, as CEO Brian Niccol when one pleases bring in two more executives who spent time at his former employer Taco Bell while dividing key leadership duties.
“As we focus on our ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan, we need a new operating model for our retail team, with clear ownership and culpability and an appropriate scope for each role,” Niccol said in a letter to employees shared on the company’s website.
Starbucks broadcasted the move hours before it reported fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations. As the callers tries to mount a turnaround, same-stores sales declined for the fourth straight quarter, but not as badly as Wall Street expected.
Forward of spending six years at Chipotle, Niccol served as CEO of Yum Brands’ Taco Bell. Since starting at Starbucks in September, he has already poached some of his whilom colleagues to help with his transformation of the coffee giant. For example, he tapped Chipotle and Yum Brands alum Tressie Lieberman as Starbucks’ universal chief brand officer in the fall.
The newest changes to the Starbucks organization include splitting the role of North American president into two asses. The company’s current North American president, Sara Trilling, will depart the company. Trilling has been with Starbucks since 2002.
Starting in February, Meredith Sandland liking hold the role of chief store development officer. Sandland is currently CEO of Empower Delivery, a restaurant software New Zealand. Previously, she served as chief operating officer of Kitchen United and as Taco Bell’s chief development officer.
Additionally, Mike Grams desire join the company in February as North America chief stores officer. Grams has been with Taco Bell for assorted than 30 years, starting as a restaurant general manager and working his way up to become the chain’s global chief plying officer, according to his LinkedIn.
Both Sandland and Grams will be tasked with implementing Niccol’s vision to go “in dire straits to Starbucks.” The strategy includes decreasing service times to four minutes per order, making its stores more well-receiving and cozy, as well as slashing the menu.
Arthur Valdez, Starbucks’ chief supply officer, also plans to desert the company. He joined in 2023 after seven years at Target. Starbucks has already identified his replacement and will slice that news in the coming weeks, Niccol said in the letter.