There is no shortage of complications in searching for a new CEO for Starbucks Corp. Starbucks faltering China business and the unionization of the US stores are resulting in a turn-off for potential candidates for the plum post. The company lacks internal talent for taking over the position after last year saw two of its C-suite Managers exit.
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The new leader will also face the delicate task of ensuring a seamless transition as the current CEO, the charismatic Howard Schultz, who is in his third term, is planning to stick around and help the new boss settle down.
Craig Buffkin, the Managing Partner at Buffkin Baker, the recruiting firm, says that Starbucks is facing headwinds in labor supply, economic and supply chain. Buffkin said it was a tough job, and he does not envy Russel Reynold, the executive search firm involved in the Starbucks CEO search.
According to Buffking, the complex demand suggests that Starbucks will look to a director to be its next CEO.
Kevin Johnson, the former CEO’s retirement in April, kicked off the search for a new CEO. He also found his way to the top from the board, where he served from 2009 before becoming the COO in 2015 and CEO in 2017.
Senior Vice president of Neuberger Berman, Kevin McCarthy, a shareholder of the coffee company with 1.25 million shares, said that Marry Dillon, a Director with Starbucks since 2016, is a natural fit to manage the restaurant chain.
Former chairman of Ulta Beauty Inc., Dillion ran the company for eight years, is a native of Chicago, and has decades of experience running consumer organizations. She helped the Ulta brand to become the go-to shopping brand among teens. She was also the head of Marketing with McDonald’s Corp. for more than four years.
Dillion stepped down from the Executive Chairman position from Ulta this month and posted an online retirement note as” not done yet.”
Ritch Allision is another director at Starbucks under consideration for the CEO. Allison joined the board of Directors at Starbucks in 2019. He stepped down as the CEO of Domino’s Pizza Inc. in April this year and is known to have many attributes. His experience at Domino’s Pizza Inc. emphasized technology and adopted innovations like AI-powered voice ordering.
If Starbucks looks beyond its directors, it could try its alumni. In 2021, two key executives, COO Roz Brewer and CFO Patrick Grismer left the company. McCarthy said that Brewer, a former Walmart executive and now the CEO of Walgreens Boot Alliance Inc., would be a welcome choice to be the next CEO of Starbucks; his suggestion provided a jolt to share prices of Starbucks.
Schultz, 68, is to continue as interim leader until the charge had ever in the first quarter of 2023.
