Blog's

Why was Starbucks CEO Narasimhan removed after a year?

Narasimhan was born on 15 May 1967 in Pune, India into a Hindu family. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune, an MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania, and a degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Starbucks’ declining revenues have also been a reason for Narasimhan’s ouster. According to Forbes, Starbucks’ third-quarter revenue showed a 4 percent decline in comparable store sales, compared to a 3 percent decline in the previous quarter.

Narasimhan worked for McKinsey for 19 years until 2012, rising to the position of Director and Location Manager for their New Delhi office. In 2012, he joined PepsiCo and rose to the position of Chief Commercial Officer Narasimhan replaced Rakesh Kapoor as CEO of Reckitt Benckiser in September 2019.

A turnaround plan was devised with the aim of reinvigorating the company “after several missteps and weak growth in the final years of its predecessor”. However, in September 2022 the company unexpectedly announced his resignation citing “personal reasons”. In September 2022, Starbucks announced that Narasimhan would become the next CEO of the company. He replaces Howard Schultz, who had been interim CEO since Kevin Johnson resigned in March 2022.

Before Narasimhan became CEO, he trained as a barista for six months to learn what changes needed to be made. The New York Times described Narasimhan as less resistant to Starbucks unionization than Schultz. In August 2024, Starbucks announced that Narasimhan would be leaving the company with immediate effect, and would be replaced by Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol.