Starbucks names Laxman Narasimhan as new CEO, starting in April

Starbucks on Thursday named Laxman Narasimhan as its next chief executive officer.

Shares of the company rose less than 1% in extended trading on the news.

Narasimhan most recently served as CEO of Reckitt, a health, hygiene and nutrition company. He announced earlier Thursday he was stepping down from that role. He’ll join Starbucks in October, learning about the company and its reinvention plan, before assuming the top job in April.

Until April, Howard Schultz will continue as interim CEO of the coffee chain he grew into a global giant. Schultz will remain on Starbucks’ board after Narasimhan succeeds him.

In April, Schultz’s handpicked successor Kevin Johnson retired after five years, leaving the top job open. Schultz returned to the company as its interim CEO, earning just $1 for his salary. In the meantime, Schultz and the Starbucks board hunted for a long-term successor, with the intention of announcing the new CEO in the fall. (The coffee chain brought back the Pumpkin Spice Latte and other fall menu items on Tuesday.)

Starbucks is holding an investor day on Sept. 13 in Seattle, where it’s expected to unveil more details about the bold changes Schultz wants to make to the company. Schultz has previously said that he wants to reinvent the employee, customer and store experience to reckon with how the world has changed since the pandemic. Starbucks said in the press release that Schultz will remain “closely involved” with the plan and act as an advisor to Narasimhan.

Narasimhan previously worked at PepsiCo, serving as its global chief commercial officer among other roles. Prior to working at the food and beverage giant, he was a senior partner at McKinsey.

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