Meet Laxman Narsimhan, the Pune boy who’ll soon be the CEO of Starbucks

Indian origin Laxman Narsimhan has been named as the new CEO of global coffee chain Starbucks.

He joins the long list of Indian-origin CEOs in the US – that includes Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai and more.

Narsimhan will replace iconic interim CEO Howard Schultz in October this year,

but will take up the top job in April 2023. He will spend a few months learning about the company and its "reinvention" plan before taking over.

Early life

The 55-year-old business executive was born and raised in Pune. He lives with his wife and two kids in Connecticut. He would however move to Seattle to work closely with Schultz.

Education

He did his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering Pune, Savitribai Phule Pune University.

He then pursued an MA in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute

at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Corporate experience

Narsimhan worked in McKinsey for 19 years until 2012. Later, he took over as the chief commercial officer of PepsiCo.

In 2019, he succeeded Rakesh Kapoor as CEO of health and hygiene company Reckitt Benckiser.

Reckitt Benckiser is best known for Durex condoms, Enfamil baby formula and Mucinex cold syrup.

A lesser known fact about Narsimhan is that he can speak six languages.

“I am humbled to be joining this iconic company at such a pivotal time, as the reinvention and investments

in the partner and customer experiences position us to meet the changing demands we face today and set us up for an even stronger future," said Narasimhan in a statement.

Starbucks is currently going through rough patch as it had to close its two stores in Seattle and Kansas city.

Its workers in 200 stores went on a strike demanding better benefits and wages due to inflation.