Starbucks may look to its board in CEO hunt
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Who will be the next CEO at Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) when interim leader Howard Schultz hands over the reigns in the first quarter of 2023? Bloomberg's Leslie Patton tackled the issue and suggested the coffee giant may look at its board for a logical candidate to handle the challenge of navigating through the COVID challenges in China and union push in the U.S.
SBUX director and former Ulta Beauty Chairwoman Mary Dillon was called a natural fit to run the restaurant chain by Neuberger Berman's Kevin McCarthy, while sources have indicated that director Ritch Allison has been under consideration for CEO role for some time. Allison is the former CEO of Dominoâs Pizza and some plenty of tech chops.
Outside the boardroom, former SBUX Chief Operating Officer Roz Brewer and former Chief Financial Officer Patrick Grismer are also seen as potential nice fits to return to Seattle. Brewer is now the CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and Grismer is CFO Advisor in Residence at the EY Center for Executive Leadership.
For its part, Starbucks (SBUX) noted that it has viable candidates that give the company confidence it can name the new CEO in the fall. "It would be premature to feed any rumors or speculation at this time," said a spokesperson on the CEO buzz.
Investors are hoping the CEO announcement will be a share price catalyst. Starbucks has peeled off 34.22% over the last 52 weeks. That return is roughly in line with the SPDR S&P Retail ETF, but trails the S&P 500 Index and restaurant sector names like McDonald's, Chipotle, and Yum Brands.