Schultz-era Starbucks executive retires as new CEO Brian Niccol aims for revival
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A longtime Starbucks (SBUX) executive is retiring as CEO Brian Niccol tries to turn around the flagging coffee chain.
On Monday, Starbucks North America CEO Michael Conway, 58, announced plans to retire. He will stay on with the company as an executive adviser through the end of November.
In a statement to Yahoo Finance, Conway said he is seeing the "energy and enthusiasm for Brian’s early vision" and "could not think of a better time to begin my transition towards retirement."
The company said the decision was made prior to the CEO transition. Niccol officially took the helm one week ago after former CEO Laxman Narasimhan stepped down and CFO Rachel Ruggeri served as interim CEO. Conway was just named into the newly created position in April when Narasimhan's team eliminated the role of global chief marketing officer.
Upon Conway's retirement, the company will eliminate the North America CEO role and create a chief brand officer position, which it's actively recruiting for. The role will oversee store concepts, product, marketing, digital and customer insights, and its creative unit.
Sara Trilling, who serves as Starbucks' North America president, will stay in her current job and report directly to Niccol.
Niccol, the former CEO at Chipotle (CMG), recently wrote an open letter to employees and customers that admitted the coffee giant is "beloved" but has "drifted" from its core.
In the US, its stores "aren’t always delivering. It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, product is inconsistent, the wait too long or the handoff too hectic," he said.
Last quarter, same-store sales declined 2% in the US.
Niccol said he'll initially be focusing on the US, but Starbucks is looking globally for growth, including in the Middle East, where the company will "work to dispel misconceptions about our brand."
Conway joined the team in 2013 during Howard Schultz's second tenure as CEO. He has held numerous roles, including at Starbucks Canada, Starbucks licensed stores business for the US and Latin America, and Starbucks global channel development.
As lead of global channel development, Conway oversaw key growth drivers for the business like expanding into the grocery aisles with Keurig's K-Cups (KDP).
Conway also serves on the board of directors for McCormick (MKC), a role he has held since 2015.
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Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at [email protected].