Starbucks Names Laxman Narasimhan New CEO

(RTTNews) - Coffee retail giant Starbucks (SBUX) Thursday announced that Laxman Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer of Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, will become the company's next CEO. Narasimhan will also become a member of the Starbucks Board of Directors.

The new CEO will join the company on October 1 after relocating from London to the Seattle area and will work closely with interim CEO Howard Schultz, before taking over the reins of the company and joining the Board on April 1, 2023.

Narasimhan has nearly 30 years of experience leading and advising global consumer-facing brands. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Reckitt, a multinational consumer health, hygiene and nutrition company, where he led the company through a major strategic transformation and a return to sustainable growth.

The new CEO is joining the company at a time when they facing the pressure of union push across its outlets, while it struggles with sales, especially in China.

Schultz will remain in the role of interim CEO during this transition period, following which he will continue as a member of the Starbucks Board of Directors. He will remain closely involved with the company's Reinvention and act as an ongoing advisor to Narasimhan.