Howard Schultz: 'I am never coming back again' as Starbucks CEO
Stephen Brashear


Outgoing Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz vowed Wednesday that he will never again return to the helm of the coffee house chain that he founded, saying that newly appointed chief executive Laxman Narasimhan represents a "great, great leader" for the brand.
"I am never coming back again because we've found the right person," the head of Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) told CNBC. 
Schultz has a history of departing the CEO role and then returning several years later. He left his original stint as chief executive in 2000 only to return in 2008. The pattern repeated again when Schultz gave up the CEO role in 2017 before regaining the top spot as interim CEO earlier this year.
In March, SBUX revealed that CEO Kevin Johnson would retire, with Schultz coming back to lead the company on an interim basis. Last week, the company revealed that it had chosen former Reckitt Benckiser CEO Laxman Narasimhan as its new chief executive.
As part of the transition, Narasimhan will start his tenure with the company on October 1 but won't fully assume the CEO title until April 1 of 2023. 
Appearing in the same CNBC interview, Narasimhan characterized the transition period as a "structured immersion process" that will give him an "opportunity to apprentice."
Commenting on his intention to permanently relinquish the CEO title, Schultz contended that the current situation is "much different than ever before."
"In 2008, when I did come back, Starbucks was in a much different position. We did not have demand in our stores. We have record demand today," he said. "Laxman is coming in with the wind at his back."
Talking about some of the challenges that the incoming CEO faces, Schultz said that SBUX will "play the long game." Speaking specifically about inflation, he said: "It's going to come down and we're doing fine."
On China, the Starbucks founder said the country will eventually outpace the U.S. in terms of the size of the company's footprint.
"The situation in China is opening up. So our position there, China will be much larger than the U.S. when we're all said and done," he said.
Commenting on the high-profile unionization efforts at some Starbucks locations, Schultz stated: "It's very simple. We have a different vision for our people and the customer experience than a third party."

For more on SBUX's long-term outlook, see why Seeking Alpha contributor Ishwarya Prasanna says the "Starbucks story remains strong."