Starbucks has joined the growing list of brands putting former marketers in the top seat, hiring former marketer Brian Niccol as chief executive and chairman.
Niccol has served as Chipotle’s CEO since 2018. Before that, he was CEO at Taco Bell—a role he took on after serving as chief marketing officer and later president of the brand. He’s also held senior marketing positions at Pizza Hut and P&G.
The unexpected announcement from Starbucks will see Laxman Narasimhan, who was named interim CEO in October 2022 and took on the remit permanently in April 2023, step down with immediate effect.
The leadership reshuffle comes as the Seattle-based coffee giant grapples with an ongoing sales slump, consumer boycotts sparked by the Israel-Gaza war, stiff competition from independent coffee shops, and a push from staff to unionize.
Another CMO-to-CEO success story
In March, Starbucks unveiled a new structure in which regional CEOs take responsibility for the business in each market, working alongside regional marketers.
As part of that, it promoted its global CMO, Brady Brewer, to CEO of its international business.
With two former marketers now filling CEO positions, the cafe chain is among several big brands betting big on marketers to lead. Other examples include:
CMOs are moving to other C-suite roles as well:
- Mars Petcare CMO Leonid Sudakov was recently named president for growth, digital and platforms.
- Molson Coors’ Michelle St. Jacques took on the role of chief commercial officer in 2023, with a remit of sales, marketing, innovation, and digital.
- Charisse Ford Hughes moved from CMO of The Kellogg Company—now known as Kellanova—to chief brand and advanced analytics officer in 2022, and chief growth officer a year later.
