From Slough to Seattle: the challenges facing Starbucks’ new boss
When Reckitt Benckiser announced the surprise departure of its chief executive, Laxman Narasimhan, on Thursday, the Durex to Dettol maker cited “personal and family reasons”.
Those reasons became clear a few hours later: Narasimhan is swapping the Reckitt office in Slough for a perch in Seattle as he joins the Starbucks chain.
In a statement, Howard Schultz, the billionaire who built Starbucks into a global empire, praised Narasimhan’s “passion of investing in humanity”.
That passion is to be tested, as Starbucks faces a widespread unionisation drive at home even as it seeks reinvigorating growth abroad.
Starbucks Workers United says it has unionised 230 stores, with a further 90 having filed to hold elections. The group complains that workers’ interests are put behind shareholders’ and says they are “understaffed, overextended, exhausted and burnt-out”.
The company denies using delaying tactics, despite the fact that only three stores have so far started negotiations with unions over new terms.
A US judge last month told Starbucks to reinstate seven staff in Memphis, Tennessee, who were allegedly fired for union activities – the company denied the allegations and said it would appeal. Starbucks has also accused US federal officials of interfering in workers’ favour.
It will be a fresh challenge for Narasimhan, who did not face significant labour relations problems during his three-year tenure at Reckitt. Starbucks said he would spend part of the first few months on the job meeting “partners” – Starbucks’ word for employees – from around the world.
Schultz, who grew the chain from 11 stores to more than 28,000, stepped in as interim chief executive in April after his hand-picked successor retired. He has already set a new
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