Starbucks officially has a new CEO.
The Seattle coffee giant said Monday that Laxman Narasimhan has assumed the role of CEO and joined the company’s board of directors.
Narasimhan succeeds longtime Starbucks leader Howard Schultz, who came out of retirement last spring to serve as interim CEO while the company searched for a new chief executive. Schultz will remain on the company’s board. Starbucks announced last September that Narasimhan would become its new CEO.
Narasimhan, 55, most recently served as CEO of Reckitt, a U.K.-based consumer health, hygiene and nutrition company. Prior to that he was a longtime executive at Pepsico. Since he was named incoming CEO, Narasimhan has traveled to more than 30 stores, manufacturing plants and support centers around the world, the company said. He also earned his barista certification.
In a prepared statement, Narasimhan said he was humbled as he stepped into his new role.