Starbucks’ New CEO Laxman Narasimhan Got Us Feeling “Golden As It’s Turmeric Latte”
Golden Turmeric Latte was such a success for global coffee chain Starbucks that they want more and more South Asian touch to its day-to-day activities. It has now named Indian-born Laxman Narasimhan as 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.
He will join the growing ranks of Indian-origin CEOs 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 Indian-origin CEOs include Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Ajay Banga of Mastercard.
Starbucks appointed Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan as new CEO of Starbucks!
Here are few other CEOs of top companies of the world! Add more to the list 👇 pic.twitter.com/AGZV94DfFj
— Stocktwits India 🇮🇳 (@StocktwitsIndia) September 2, 2022
The incoming Starbucks CEO 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.
“Starbucks’ commitment to uplift humanity through connection and compassion has long distinguished the company, building an unrivaled, globally admired brand that has transformed the way we connect over coffee. I am humbled to be joining this iconic company at such a pivotal time, as the reinvention and investments in the partner and customer experiences position us to meet the changing demands we face today and set us up for an even stronger future,” said Laxman Narasimhan in a press statement, adding, “I look forward to working closely with Howard, the Board, and the entire leadership team — and to listening and learning from Starbucks partners — as we collectively build on this work to lead the company into its next chapter of growth and impact.”
Laxman 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.
Chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra aptly Tweeted, “What was initially a trickle of water has turned into a Tsunami. The appointment of Indian-origin CEOs at the world’s most iconic companies is now an unstoppable trend. International boardrooms consider them to be almost ‘safe’ leadership bets.”
