Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ:SBUX) has announced several leadership changes to accelerate its innovation and growth. The company announced the following leadership moves as it further strengthens its three-region operating model:
- Lucy Lee Helm was named executive vice president, general counsel and secretary
- Arthur Rubinfeld was named chief creative officer and president, Global Development and Evolution Fresh Retail
- Annie Young-Scrivner was named executive vice president and president, Starbucks Canada
- Colin Moore was named senior vice president, Enterprise Optimization
- Craig Russell was named senior vice president, Global Coffee coinciding with the retirement of Dub Hay as senior vice president, Global Coffee Authority this November
“As we continue to sharpen our focus and strengthen our three-region operating model, local relevancy and speed of decision making are two critical requirements we must deliver so that we can seize opportunities,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and ceo. “We will never rest when it comes to coffee innovation and elevating the overall coffee experience for our customers. The leadership moves we announced today will enable us to more swiftly position ourselves for the exciting opportunities ahead while never losing sight of the fact that we are a global brand with a rich heritage in coffee, long-standing values, and the responsibility to use our scale for good.”
Lucy Lee Helm
executive vice president, general counsel and secretary
Helm has been a partner (employee) at Starbucks for more than 12 years and her appointment as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary comes after serving as interim general counsel since April of 2012. She will lead the Law & Corporate Affairs (L&CA) department, support the Starbucks Board of Directors and serve as a member of the company’s senior leadership team. Helm has previously led the Starbucks Litigation & Brand Protection (intellectual property) team, L&CA Operations, Global Business (commercial) team, and Litigation & Employment team. She currently chairs the company’s Policy Governance Council and also serves as the executive sponsor of L&CA’s pro bono program. Helm will report to Schultz.
Arthur Rubinfeld
chief creative officer and president, Global Development and Evolution Fresh Retail
Rubinfeld will expand his role to chief creative officer and president, Global Development and Evolution Fresh Retail. In addition to continuing to lead strategic store site selection and design, he will be responsible for developing and integrating a dynamic brand experience for Starbucks customers around the world. Rubinfeld, who was responsible for the design of the company’s first Evolution Fresh juice store which opened in March in Bellevue, Wash., will also continue to lead the Evolution Fresh retail store strategy. Rubinfeld initially joined Starbucks in 1992, spending ten years growing Starbucks retail presence from 100 stores to 4,000 stores around the world. He returned to Starbucks in 2008 to lead global store development. He will continue to report to Schultz and serve on the company’s senior leadership team.
Annie Young-Scrivner
executive vice president and president, Starbucks Canada
Young-Scrivner has been appointed executive vice president and president, Starbucks Canada – the company’s largest market outside the U.S. Starbucks opened its first store outside the U.S. in Canada 25 years ago. She will be based at Starbucks Canada’s Toronto Support Center where she will bring over 20 years of innovative marketing experience to this priority market. Young-Scrivner will assume her new role by the end of September – the conclusion of the company’s current fiscal year. She will report to Cliff Burrows, president, Americas and U.S.
To be more nimble and locally relevant, Starbucks has moved its marketing and category functions to the regional and market level. As a result, the company will not replace the global chief marketing officer role which Young-Scrivner previously held. However, the company has formed a cross-functional global brand leadership team, led by Vivek Varma, executive vice president, Public Affairs, to deliver regional and channel-specific brand alignment and breakthrough innovation. Additionally, this team will ensure local marketing and category initiatives continue to be grounded in our company mission and values.
As Young-Scrivner focuses on leading and growing the Canadian market, Jeff Hansberry, president, Channel Development, will expand his responsibilities to include Tazo Tea which will join the company’s emerging brands portfolio along with Evolution Fresh and Seattle’s Best Coffee.
Colin Moore
senior vice president, Enterprise Optimization
Moore, who currently serves as senior vice president Starbucks Americas and president, Starbucks Canada, will transition to his newly created role as senior vice president, Enterprise Optimization. Over the past ten years, he has led the Canadian team in building Starbucks largest market outside the U.S. In his new role, Moore will report to chief financial officer Troy Alstead where he will have responsibility for driving greater financial value creation as well as economic and operating efficiencies for the company worldwide. He will continue to be based in Toronto.
Craig Russell
senior vice president, Global Coffee
Russell, who most recently served as senior vice president, U.S. Store Services has been named senior vice president, Global Coffee. This move coincides with the announcement of Dub Hay’s retirement next November as senior vice president, Global Coffee Authority after nearly 10 years with Starbucks. In this expanded coffee leadership role, Russell will serve as the company voice and advocate for coffee and its business strategy. The Global Coffee team will continue to deliver a unified focus on coffee and drive innovation across all coffee platforms in addition to partnering with Starbucks Supply Chain Operations and Global Responsibility teams on ethical sourcing practices. All aspects of coffee category, education and engagement will also be led by this team. Russell, an 11-year partner will report to Schultz and join the senior leadership team.
Schultz added, “I cannot overstate what an incredible asset Dub has been to Starbucks as a true force in the industry, whose passion for coffee is only surpassed by his expertise. We wish him the very best in his retirement.”
