Starbucks Now Has a New Indian CEO; Laxman Narasimhan

Starbucks just yesterday announced that the company has hired a new CEO named ‘Laxman Narasimhan’, who will go on to replace Howard Schultz in April. Narasimhan, an Indian by birth has stepped into the organization at a crucial time since the coffee retail chain is suffering from both unionization and inflation.

Former CEO Howard Schultz, joined the company just last year when it was in a pretty bad condition. Taking over the company after Kevin Jhonson, Schultz is often referred to as the CEO who took the company back from the reins.

Schultz, being the current CEO, was an active part of the hiring process. Speaking upon the selection of Narasimhan, he said that “We were looking for somebody that was a true servant leader that had a deep sense of humility. Laxman first and foremost is a true servant leader.”

Spending most of his life serving massive organizations, Laxman Narasimhan is no stranger to important roles. The 55-year-old has served as a senior PepsiCo executive and is currently serving as the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, ‘the company behind products such as Lysol disinfectant and Durex’.

Laxman Narasimhan was born in Pune and his journey started when he moved to the US to pursue his studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. After completing his studies, he joined McKinsey & Company and worked through becoming a senior partner. Narasimhan then went on to join PepsiCo in 2012, where he worked through the ranks and eventually started overseeing operations in regions including Latin America, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

Howard Schultz, while speaking about Starbucks new hire said that “It was that breadth of experience across industries and international borders that drew Starbucks to Mr. Narasimhan. He’s a true operator and has the DNA of an entrepreneur.”

Starbucks believes that Narasimhan’s experience with Supply Chain and his connections in the corporate world will be of massive value to the company. From handling a mainstream brand in inflation to fighting off unionization threats, Narasimhan will surely have a lot on his hands.

With this achievement, Narasimhan has made it into the list of Indian Origin CEOs, who started from humble backgrounds and went on to carry big names in the business. Indians have been or are leading companies including IBM, Microsoft, Twitter, Adobe, Micron, Chanel, Pepsi and now even Starbucks.