Global coffee chain Starbucks has named Indian-born Laxman Narasimhan its next CEO. Narasimhan, who currently heads health and hygiene company Reckitt, will join Starbucks in October and take over from its iconic interim CEO Howard Shultz in April.
Narasimhan joins the growing ranks of Indian-descent CEOs heading leading US corporate giants such as Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, Punit Renjen of Deloitte, and Raj Subramaniam of FedEx. Major former Desi CEOs include Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Ajay Banga of Mastercard.
Who is Laxman Narasimhan?
Laxman Narasimhan currently heads health and hygiene company Reckitt and will join Starbucks in October. Narasimhan studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pune and then he headed west, picking up Masters in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute at The University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.
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Narasimhan previously worked with PepsiCo, including as Global Chief Commercial Officer, and as a senior partner at McKinsey & Company, before that. At McKinsey, he had been focused on its consumer, retail, and technology practices in the US, Asia, and India.
"Narasimhan is also a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, served as a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Build Back Better Council, and is a member of Verizon’s Board of Directors," an article on the Starbucks website read.
He will now relocate to Seattle, Washington, from London and work closely with Shultz before taking over formally in April.
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Starbucks interim CEO Howard Shultz about Narasimhan
Shultz said, handing over the reins to Narasimhan, "Laxman is an inspiring leader. His deep, hands-on experience driving strategic transformations at global consumer-facing businesses makes him the ideal choice to accelerate Starbucks' growth and capture the opportunities ahead of us. His understanding of our culture and values, coupled with his expertise as a brand builder, innovation champion, and operational leader will be true differentiators as we position Starbucks for the next 50 years, generating value for all our stakeholders."
Shultz will remain a member of the Starbucks board, the company said and he will "remain closely involved with the company's reinvention and act as an ongoing advisor to Narasimhan".
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