Who Is Laxman Narasimhan, Indian-Origin Former CEO Of Starbucks?

Cafe giant Starbucks recently announced the replacement of its chief executive officer, Laxman Narasimhan. The Indian-origin businessman was appointed only about a year ago. The company stated that Brian Niccol, chief executive at Chipotle, will now take over. The sudden leadership change comes amid Starbucks' reported broad-based sales declines and a disappointing April earnings report. The company has cited weakening consumer sentiment and tough market conditions in China as contributing factors to its troubles.

Who Is Laxman Narasimhan?

Laxman Narasimhan was born in Pune, Maharashtra, where he completed his education in mechanical engineering at the College of Engineering, Pune. He then pursued a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and then a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Narasimhan has over three decades of experience in business execution at various reputed companies. He worked for 19 years at McKinsey, rising to director and location manager for their New Delhi office till 2012. He then joined PepsiCo, where he was posted as the chief commercial officer. He then became the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser in September 2019. He was then appointed as the CEO of Starbucks in late 2022.

He succeeded Howard Schultz, who had been interim CEO since Kevin Johnson resigned in March 2022. Narasimhan reportedly trained as a barista for six months before taking over as the chief to learn what changes needed to be made. He officially joined the Board of Directors in March 2023. Narasimhan was known for his emphasis on work-life balance, as he claimed he never worked after 6 p.m.

Narasimhan, a father of two, told Fortune magazine in an interview, "I am very disciplined about balance. If there's anything after 6 pm and I am in town, it's got to be a pretty high bar to keep me away from the family." The 57-year-old Connecticut resident added, "Anybody who gets a minute of time after that better be sure that it's important... Because if not it will just wait for another day." 

Amid speculations that Narasimhan was "fired", Mellody Hobson, Starbucks board chair, issued a statement praising him saying, "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."