Starbucks has named Ricardo Arias-Nath as president of its Latin America and Caribbean system, which includes more than 1,600 locations in 23 markets. He previously served as PepsiCo’s chief strategy and transformation officer and succeeds Tom Ferguson, who has held the role since August 2022, according to World Coffee Portal.
Arias-Nath has more than 25 years of experience in general management, strategy, marketing and business transformation. While at PepsiCo, he drove the company’s “Farm to Shelf” strategy across Latin America for both its food and beverage businesses. He also held a variety of roles at PepsiCo, including senior vice president of strategy and transformation, chief marketing officer for beverages, and franchise general manager.
Arias-Nath’s career began at the Procter & Gamble Company, where he served in various roles in marketing and finance. In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of Tokenzone, an early player in the NFTs space. He earned a master of science degree in operations research from Stanford University, and an undergraduate degree in economics from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Venezuela.
Arias-Nath’s announcement comes as Starbucks undergoes several leadership changes under the direction of CEO Laxman Narasimhan. In March, the company named Michael Conway to the newly created role of CEO, North America. At the same time, Brady Brewer was promoted to CEO of Starbucks International, while Lynn Castonguay joined the company as its first chief merchant and product officer. Sara Trilling remains as president, North America, while Belinda Wong, chairwoman and co-CEO, and Molly Liu, co-CEO, continue to lead Starbucks’ team in China.
These personnel moves are meant to create a leadership structure with ‘’clear geographic locations in mind,” Narasimhan said in March.
“To further accelerate progress, consistent with our ambitions, we are realigning the organization to balance clear geographical focus with investing in functional capabilities to scale around the world, generating productivity and reinvigorating our partner culture,” he said in a statement.
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