Coffee giant Starbucks on Tuesday announced its CEO Laxman Narasimhan had resigned with immediate effect after just 16 months in the role, and would be replaced by CEO of Chipotle, Brian Niccol, from September 9.
Rachel Ruggeri, the company's chief financial officer (CFO), will act as interim CEO until Niccol joins.
"On behalf of the board, I want to sincerely thank Laxman for his contributions to Starbucks, and his dedication to our people and brand. In the face of some challenging headwinds, Laxman has been laser-focused on improving the business to meet the needs of our customers and partners. We all wish him the very best and know he will do great things in the future," said Mellody Hobson, Starbucks board chair, who is scheduled to become lead independent director.
Along with this announcement, it was a recent interview with Narasimhan that generated a buzz online. In an interview with Fortune Magazine a month ago, Narasimhan had said he did not work past 6 pm to maintain a work-life balance.
"I am very disciplined about balance. If there’s anything after 6 pm, and if I am in town, it’s got to be a pretty high bar to keep me away from the family. Anybody who gets a minute of time after that better be sure that it’s important. Because if not, it’ll just wait for another day," Narasimhan stated in his interview.
He has said he did 150-250 minutes of exercise over the week.
The 57-year-old Indian American joined the Seattle-based coffee company as an interim CEO in 2022, and became the CEO in 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Here's how netizens reacted to the news of his exit:
"Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan recently said that he doesn't work past 6 pm and that if anyone at Starbucks gets a minute of his time after 6 pm they "better be sure that it's important. He was just fired today," said a user.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
POPULAR