Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is stepping down after five years on the job.
Howard Schultz will return as interim CEO, once again taking over the company he has built into a global brand, while the company is looking for a long-term successor. This will be his third term as CEO of the coffee giant.
The company’s shares rose 5% in premarket trading on the news. The company announced a change in leadership ahead of its annual shareholder meeting.
“A year ago, I made it clear to the board of directors that as the global pandemic draws to a close, I would consider leaving Starbucks. I feel this is a natural ending to my 13 years with the company,” Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson joined the board in 2009 while serving as CEO of Juniper Networks and became a member of the leadership team in 2015 as president and chief operating officer. In 2017, Johnson was named president and CEO, succeeding Schultz. Wednesday’s AGM marks his 14th meeting at the company, he wrote in his latest letter to employees.
In addition to leading the company during the pandemic, Johnson has used his experience as a former CTO throughout his tenure to push Starbucks into the digital age by revamping its loyalty program and revamping its store chain to reflect the different ways consumers buy coffee. now. He also pushed the chain to expand into China, which is now its second largest market.
During his time at the helm, Starbucks shares rose nearly 50%, including Wednesday’s premarket gain.
Starbucks chairman Mellody Hobson told CNBC’s Squawk Box that the company intends to select a permanent successor by the fall.
“We’re not going to hire through Zoom, I’ll tell you that,” Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, said on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.
She added that the company already has a number of strong candidates vying for the top job.
Schultz, 68, said in a statement that he had no previous plans to return to the company. He served as CEO from 1986 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2017. He also considered running for president ahead of the 2020 election.
“When you love something, you have a deep sense of responsibility to help when called. While I didn’t plan on returning to Starbucks, I know the company must transform again to meet a new and exciting future where all of our stakeholders will mutually thrive. “Amid the recovery from COVID and global unrest, it’s critical that we set the table to boldly reimagine and reimagine the future of the Starbucks experience for our partners and customers,” Schultz said in a post.
Schultz’s salary as interim chief executive will be $1, the company said. Hobson said the company would build on “his excellence and his genius” throughout the transition, but denied that he would stay longer as the company’s next full-time chief executive.
“We have a large list of candidates. People want this job, and we are fully confident that we will have a new leader in the fall,” she said. “He won’t stay for three years…until autumn, period. Believe me”.
The CEO change comes amid growing unionization efforts by Starbucks employees.
In a move that may have signaled his return to the company, Schultz showed up at a cafe in Buffalo, New York ahead of the union election, along with other senior Starbucks executives, to dissuade baristas from voting in favor of unionizing.
To date, about 140 Starbucks stores in 26 states have asked the National Labor Relations Council to form unions, according to organizers Starbucks Workers United. So far, six seats have voted in favor of unification.
This week the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint due to the allegations, Starbucks retaliated against two employees in Phoenix who sought to unionize their store. On Tuesday, a group of 75 Starbucks investors sent a letter to Hobson and Johnson urging the company to adopt a policy of neutrality regarding all current and future attempts by its workers to organize.
Hobson said Tuesday that Starbucks “made a few mistakes” when asked about union pressure.
“When you think about it, again, why we rely on Howard at the moment is that connection to our people where we think he’s exceptionally capable of interacting with our people in a way that makes a difference,” she said.
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