Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol announced another leadership shakeup at the executive level of the Seattle-based coffee chain. Sara Trilling (executive vice president and president of Starbucks North America) and Arthur Valdez (executive vice president of global supply and customer solutions) have left the company.
Starbucks will be replacing them with three new leadership roles as part of a “new operating model,” two of which have been filled already. Trilling’s former role as president of Starbucks North America has been split into two, which Niccol said, Trilling said was “the right decision for the company,” but that “neither role was right for her.”
- Executive vice president, North America chief stores officer- This first new role will be held by former president and global chief operating officer, Mike Grams. Grams is one of a few people Niccol has brought on board from his previous roles at Taco Bell and Chipotle. Grams has 30 years of experience at Taco Bell, where he held multiple executive leadership positions over the years. Grams will be responsible for North America retail teams and store performance, and will also lead the customer solutions team.
- Executive vice president, chief store development officer- This newly created role will be filled by Meredith Sandland, founder and CEO of SaaS company, Empower Delivery. Sandland also is the author of “Delivering the Digital Restaurant” and a former COO of Kitchen United. She also worked with Niccol at Taco Bell, where she was chief development officer. At Starbucks, she will be responsible for store development and design. She will also lead a center of practice across the Starbucks global design community.
Besides these two new roles, Starbucks will also be replacing Valdez as head of the company’s global supply chain, although that role has not been announced yet.
Other recent Starbucks executive changes under Niccol’s leadership include the company hiring its first global chief brand officer in October, promoting Molly Liu to head Starbucks China, and hiring Starbucks China’s first chief growth officer in December.
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