Months after former CEO Howard Schultz temporarily took over to lead the coffee company, Starbucks Corp. has now chosen consumer products executive Laxman Narasimhan as its next CEO. 55-year-old Mr. Narasimhan has spent the last three years as the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, the company that makes Lysol and Enfamil infant formula. He announced his resignation from the company earlier this week and will take up the position of Starbucks CEO in April 2023.
“We really do believe that we have found an exceptional individual to be our next CEO. He’s a tested leader,” said Starbucks board chairwoman Mellody Hobson.
Before taking over as CEO in April, he will join Starbucks in October to learn more about the organization and its plan for reinvention. Until then, Howard Schultz will serve as interim CEO of the coffee company he built into a global empire. After Narasimhan takes over as CEO of Starbucks, Schultz will continue on the board.
