Tawanda Starms, Chipotle’s vice president of people experience and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, is leaving the company, according to Bloomberg. She has served in that role since August 2022 and has been with Chipotle since December 2018.
Starms was initially hired as director, people experience, with subsequent promotions to senior director, people experience; vice president, talent and culture; and VP people experience and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. Nation’s Restaurant News has reached out to Chipotle for a statement regarding Starms’ departure.
Notably, that departure comes less than a year after Marissa Andrada, chief diversity, inclusion and people officer, left the company. Andrada, who was hired as Chipotle’s first chief people officer in 2018 and added diversity and inclusion to her purview in July 2020, left the company in August 2022. She now serves on the board of directors at Krispy Kreme.
The two helped oversee the company’s move to tie executive bonuses to environmental, social and governance goals and increase the pipeline of diversity at the company. In an interview with the HR Digest last year, Andrada said Chipotle’s “people transformation” that began with her hire in 2018 was a way to help position the chain for growth. Since then, the company has established a network of minority- and women-owned search firms to help curate diverse talent and established employee resource groups.
When Starms took over the c-suite role, she oversaw the launch of the MLT Black Equity at Work Certification and championed employee well-being initiatives, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Chipotle has been earned a 100% rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, has been recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Bet Employers for Diversity, and is one of just two restaurant companies on this year’s Bloomberg Gender-Equity Index.
According to Bloomberg, Roger Theodoredis, Chipotle’s chief legal officer, will take on some of Starms’ duties.
Bloomberg also reported that Chipotle is requiring corporate staff to return to the office four days a week. Additionally, in May, the company announced it was eliminating 25 roles in a restructuring effort aimed at driving “aggressive goals for future growth.” Chipotle joins industry peers McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Starbucks in undergoing recent corporate restructures as companies continue to recover from the pandemic and navigate an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop.
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
