Starbucks announced yesterday that its “interim” CEO Howard Schultz, who took the job for the third time last April after Kevin Johnson stepped down, has passed the CEO baton to Laxman Narasimhan, who also becomes a member of the company’s board.
This time around, Schultz will remain on the board, pledging to remain involved in the company’s operations. He has said that the reason the company went astray in the past, opening the door to unionization efforts, is because he stepped away from active involvement.
Bloomberg reports that Narasimhan “began working at the coffee giant in October and has spent the last few months getting to know the operations at more than 30 stores, manufacturing and support facilities. He also earned a barista certification.”
“As I turn Starbucks over to you now, know that you have my utmost confidence, trust and love,” Schultz wrote in a memo to staff. “You all are the future of Starbucks.”
KC’s View:
Laxman Narasimhan. So that’s what the hell his name is. (Now that he officially has the job, I’m retiring the joke that I’ve been using over the past couple of months.)
Does anyone want to take the over/under on how long it will take Schultz to tell the US Senate labor committee looking into Starbucks’ anti-union activities that he’s no longer the right guy to testify since he’s no longer CEO? I don’t think it will take long. As willing as Schultz was to take all the credit for the company’s new olive oil-infused drinks, he’ll also be willing to send Narasimhan to DC to take the committee’s heat. (I hope that if he tries this, the Senate committee rebuffs him. Schultz has been the main driver and face of Starbucks’ anti-union stance, and he ought to be willing to take the witness chair and answer questions under oath.)
While we’re at it, what’s the over/under on how long it takes for Schultz to come back a fourth time?
By the way, I want to be clear here. I have nothing against Narasimhan, the former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser who also worked as an executive at PepsiCo and McKinsey & Co. – he strikes me as being an executive much in the mold of Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran, with whom he shares the PepsiCo-McKinsey pedigree. And I like Vivek Sankaran a lot. I’m rooting for a) Narasimhan to succeed and b) not having to write a “Schultz Returns For A Fourth Time” headline.
When I think of Schultz stepping down, I cannot help but think of King George III singing “You’ll Be Back” in “Hamilton:”
You’ll be back, soon, you’ll see
You’ll remember you belong to me
You’ll be back, time will tell
You’ll remember that I served you well
Oceans rise, empires fall
We have seen each other through it all
And when push comes to shove
I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!
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