Laxman Narasimhan

Laxman Narasimhan (born 15 May 1967)^[1] is an Indian-born American business executive and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Starbucks and Reckitt.

Laxman Narasimhan
Narasimhan in 2017
Born	(1967-05-15) 15 May 1967 (age 57) Pune, India
Education	College of Engineering, Pune (BTech) University of Pennsylvania (MA, MBA)
Title	Former CEO of Starbucks and Reckitt
Predecessor	Howard Schultz (acting) Kevin Johnson
Successor	Brian Niccol
Children	2

He was previously chief commercial officer (CCO) of PepsiCo. He joined Starbucks as interim CEO in October 2022, and succeeded Howard Schultz as CEO in April 2023. He was ousted by the board of Starbucks in August 2024.^[2][3][4]

Early life

Narasimhan was born on May 15, 1967, in Pune, India into a Hindu family.^[1][5] He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune, an MA in international studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School, also at the University of Pennsylvania.^[6][7]

Career

Narasimhan worked for McKinsey for 19 years until 2012, rising to director and location manager for their New Delhi office.^[6] In 2012, he joined PepsiCo, rising to chief commercial officer.^[6]

Narasimhan succeeded Rakesh Kapoor as CEO of Reckitt Benckiser in September 2019,^[7][8] formulating a turnaround plan which was intended to rejuvenate the company "following a series of missteps and lacklustre growth that marked the final years of his predecessor".^[9] In September 2022 the company unexpectedly announced his resignation, explaining that he had "decided for personal and family reasons to relocate back to the United States and has been approached for an opportunity that enables him to live there."^[10]

In September 2022, Starbucks announced that Narasimhan would become the company's next CEO.^[2] He succeeded Howard Schultz, who had been interim CEO since Kevin Johnson resigned in March 2022.^[3][11] Prior to Narasimhan taking over as CEO, he trained as a barista for six months to learn what changes needed to be made.^[12][13] The New York Times has described Narasimhan as less resistant to Starbucks unionization than Schultz.^[14]

In 2023, Narasimhan's total compensation from Starbucks was $14.6 million, or 1,028 times the median employee pay at Starbucks for that year.^[15]

In August 2024, Starbucks announced that Narasimhan would leave the company effective immediately, and was replaced by Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol.^[16]

Narasimhan made headlines for saying he never works past 6 pm.^[17]

Personal life

Narasimhan is married with two children, and lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.^[18] He speaks six languages.^[7]

See also

• Indians in the New York City metropolitan area

References

1. "Reckitt boss Laxman Narasimhan: Growing up in India, you learn resilience". The Times. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
2. "Starbucks Names Laxman Narasimhan as Next Chief Executive Officer". Starbucks Stories. Starbucks Corporation. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Starbucks [...] today announced that Laxman Narasimhan will become the company's next chief executive officer and a member of the Starbucks Board of Directors.
3. Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Merced, Michael J. de la (2022-09-01). "Starbucks names a new chief executive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
4. Lucas, Amelia (2024-08-14). "Starbucks is giving incoming CEO Brian Niccol $85 million in cash and stock as he departs Chipotle". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
5. "Friends recall next Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan beyond business, Pune roots". The Times of India. 2022-09-03. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
6. "Laxman Narasimhan". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
7. O'Dwyer, Michael (12 June 2019). "Reckitt poaches Pepsi executive as new boss". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 June 2019 – via telegraph.co.uk.
8. "The Board – RB". rb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
9. Evans, Judith; Wembridge, Mark (1 September 2022). "Reckitt Benckiser chief Laxman Narasimhan to step down". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
10. "Laxman Narasimhan steps down as CEO". Reckitt. Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Reckitt Benckiser Group plc ("Reckitt") today announces that its CEO, Laxman Narasimhan will step down as Chief Executive Officer on September 30, 2022. Laxman has decided for personal and family reasons to relocate back to the United States and has been approached for an opportunity that enables him to live there.
11. "Starbucks's new CEO will work in cafes once a month". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
12. "Starbucks new CEO reveals his favorite coffee order after spending 6 months working side by side with baristas". Fortune. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
13. "Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan is making store-level changes after training as a barista". Nation's Restaurant News. 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
14. Scheiber, Noam (28 February 2024). "Starbucks and Union Agree to Work Out Framework for Contract Talks". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
15. Anderson, Sarah (2024-08-29). "Executive Excess 2024: The "Low Wage 100" corporations are enriching CEOs at the expense of workers and long-term investment" (PDF). Institute for Policy Studies. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
16. Lucas, Amelia (13 August 2024). "Starbucks replaces CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Brian Niccol". CNBC. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
17. "Who Is Laxman Narasimhan, Recently Fired Starbucks' Indian-Origin CEO". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
18. "Laxman Narasimhan". outstanding50award. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.