Dive Brief:
- Starbucks promoted Mike Grams to chief operating officer on Wednesday, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was previously executive vice president, North American chief coffeehouse officer.
- In 2022, the company dissolved the role, which led to the departure of John Culver.
- The return of a COO is part of the chain’s ongoing transformation strategy to boost sales and traffic and improve the overall coffeehouse experience. That’s still a work in progress as the chain reported its fifth consecutive decline in traffic and same-store sales in North America for its fiscal Q2 2025.
Dive Insight:
Starbucks’ transformation strategy has led to several shifts in the C-suite to “bring teams closer together, strengthen leadership accountability and allow teams to move with even greater clarity and urgency,” CEO Brian Niccol said in a note to employees. Earlier this year, Starbucks hired Cathy Smith as CFO, replacing Rachel Ruggeri. Last year, the chain eliminated Starbucks’ North America CEO position.
Grams joined Starbucks in February along with Meredith Sandland, splitting responsibilities taken from departing executive roles. In his past position, Grams was responsible for the customer solutions division and oversaw retail teams and store performance. As COO, he will oversee operations in addition to global coffee house development and the global supply chain. Sandland will now report to Grams, as will Sanjay Shah, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer.
“I’m excited to bring these functions together and to see the impact of Meredith, Sanjay and Mike working more closely to elevate the design, build and operations of our coffeehouses and to deliver a world-class supply chain that empowers our green apron partners and delights our customers,” Niccol said in a statement.
Grams previously spent more than 30 years at Taco Bell and Yum Brands in various leadership positions. He most recently served as president and global chief operating officer for Taco Bell, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Starbucks also is bringing together the Global Coffee and Sustainability team with the Global Brand team to “further embed sustainability in our products, packaging and operations,” Niccol said. As part of that team, Michelle Burns, executive vice president of global coffee and sustainability, will report to Tressie Lieberman, executive vice president and global chief brand officer.
Separately, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Deb Hall Lefevre will report to Smith, Niccol added.
Additionally, Brad Lerman, Starbucks’ executive vice president and chief legal officer, has resigned from his post and a search has begun for his replacement. Lerman will remain at the company until a successor is identified.
Clarification: This story was updated with additional details on Mike Grams’ job description.
