Starbucks executive team & leadership
Starbucks's executive team includes 10 tracked leaders as of 2026-10-20, led by Brian Niccol (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer). The org chart, per-leader profiles and full leadership list are below.
Starbucks executive team overview
Starbucks has 10 tracked executives leading key functions including company strategy and operations, financial strategy, day-to-day operations, technology strategy and engineering (as of 2026-10-20). Starbucks Corporation is the world's largest specialty coffee roaster and retailer, headquartered at the Starbucks Center, 2401 Utah Avenue South in Seattle, with its common stock listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker SBUX. The first store opened at Pike Place Market in 1971 and the current corporation was formed in 1985. It operates in 89 markets through three segments: North America (74% of fiscal 2025 revenue), International (21%) and Channel Development (5%), which sells packaged coffee through the Global Coffee Alliance with Nestle. Net revenues reached 37.2 billion dollars in fiscal 2025, and the company employed about 381,000 people worldwide, 223,000 of them in the U.S. At the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2026 it had 41,304 stores, 33% company-operated and 67% licensed, after selling 60% of its China retail business to Boyu Capital in March 2026. Brian Niccol, former Chipotle chief executive, has led the company since September 2024 under the Back to Starbucks turnaround plan.
Starbucks executive team org chart
Brian NiccolChairman and Chief Executive Officer- CSCathy SmithExecutive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- MGMike GramsExecutive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
- BBBrady BrewerChief Executive Officer, Starbucks International
- AVAnand VaradarajanExecutive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
- TLTressie LiebermanExecutive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer
- SKSara KellyExecutive Vice President and Chief Partner Officer
- PRPilar RamosExecutive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
- SSSanjay ShahExecutive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer
- SPStephen PiacentiniExecutive Vice President and Chief Coffeehouse Design and Development Officer
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Employees by management level
| Name | Profiles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Executive leadership team | 11 | <0.1% |
| Vice presidents and above | 400 | 0.2% |
| Directors and senior managers | 3,500 | 1.8% |
| Store and district managers | 18,000 | 9.1% |
| Baristas, shift supervisors and individual contributors | 175,415 | 89% |
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Leadership team
| Leader | Location | Profile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNBrian NiccolChairman and Chief Executive Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| CSCathy SmithExecutive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| MGMike GramsExecutive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| BBBrady BrewerChief Executive Officer, Starbucks International | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| AVAnand VaradarajanExecutive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| TLTressie LiebermanExecutive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| SKSara KellyExecutive Vice President and Chief Partner Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| PRPilar RamosExecutive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| SSSanjay ShahExecutive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → | |
| SPStephen PiacentiniExecutive Vice President and Chief Coffeehouse Design and Development Officer | ••••@starbucks.com | Profile → |
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Starbucks executive team roles
Brian Niccol · full profile →
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Brian Niccol joined Starbucks as chairman and chief executive officer in September 2024 and leads its Back to Starbucks turnaround. He came from Chipotle Mexican Grill, where he was chief executive officer from 2018 to 2024 and chairman from 2020. Before that he ran Taco Bell as chief executive officer from 2015 to 2018, after serving as its president and as chief marketing and innovation officer, and he held leadership roles at Pizza Hut from 2005 to 2011. He also sits on the board of Walmart.
Cathy Smith · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Cathy Smith joined Starbucks in March 2025 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. She was previously chief financial officer and treasurer of Nordstrom, chief financial and administrative officer of Bright Health Group, and chief financial officer of Target from 2015 to 2020. Earlier she was chief financial officer of Express Scripts, Walmart International and GameStop. She serves on the boards of PPG Industries and Baxter International.
Mike Grams · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Mike Grams joined Starbucks in February 2025 as executive vice president and North America chief coffeehouse officer, and has been chief operating officer since June 2025. He spent nearly thirty years at Taco Bell, where he was president and chief operating officer from 2020 to December 2024, global chief operating officer and general manager for North America, and chief operating officer and chief development officer.
Brady Brewer · full profile →
Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks International
Brady Brewer has led Starbucks International as chief executive officer since April 2024, overseeing Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, Latin America and the Caribbean, Global Coffee Operations and international licensees. He joined Starbucks in 2001. From 2020 to 2024 he was executive vice president and chief marketing officer, and before that he led digital customer experience, ran operations as chief operating officer of Starbucks Japan, and headed marketing for China and Asia Pacific. He sits on the board of Gap Inc.
Anand Varadarajan · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Anand Varadarajan became executive vice president and chief technology officer of Starbucks on January 19, 2026, reporting to Brian Niccol. He spent nearly 19 years at Amazon, most recently as vice president of worldwide grocery technology and supply chain, after starting his career in software engineering at Oracle. At Starbucks he leads the in-store technology work meant to speed up order flow and service.
Tressie Lieberman · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer
Tressie Lieberman joined Starbucks in November 2024 as its first global chief brand officer, a remit that covers marketing, product, digital, creative, and data analytics and insights. She previously worked with Brian Niccol at Chipotle Mexican Grill, where she led digital marketing and off-premise as vice president.
Sara Kelly · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Chief Partner Officer
Sara Kelly has been executive vice president and chief partner officer of Starbucks since 2022, responsible for helping its employees, whom the company calls partners, build their careers and for building global partner capability. She joined Starbucks in 2001. Before her current role she was senior vice president of Talent and Partner Experience from 2021 to 2022, and vice president of Partner Resources supporting global markets from 2014 to 2021.
Pilar Ramos · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer
Pilar Ramos joined Starbucks in November 2025 as executive vice president and chief legal officer, leading the Law and Corporate Affairs organization. She was previously executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of TelevisaUnivision from August 2021 to October 2025, and spent 2003 to 2021 at Mastercard, including six years as executive vice president and general counsel for North America.
Sanjay Shah · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer
Sanjay Shah joined Starbucks in 2025 as chief supply chain officer, recruited from the delivery company Gopuff, and reports to chief operating officer Mike Grams since the June 2025 reorganization. His earlier roles include supply chain and operations positions at Beyond Meat, Tesla and Amazon. In 2026 he also joined the board of the drone delivery company Matternet.
Stephen Piacentini · full profile →
Executive Vice President and Chief Coffeehouse Design and Development Officer
Stephen Piacentini joined Starbucks in April 2026 as executive vice president and chief coffeehouse design and development officer, leading the design, renovation and growth of its coffeehouse portfolio. He came from Chipotle Mexican Grill, where he had been chief development officer since 2023. Before that he was vice president of global restaurant development and recruiting at The Wendy's Company from 2019 to 2023, held development roles at Jimmy John's and spent more than 13 years at Taco Bell.