Starbucks announced on Friday that Anand Varadarajan will become its new chief technology officer, effective January 19. CEO Brian Niccol aims to push a tech-driven revamp in stores to improve labor efficiency.
Varadarajan succeeds Deb Hall Lefevre, who stepped down in September. In the interim, Ningyu Chen served as the acting CTO.
Varadarajan’s Background
Varadarajan brings nearly two decades of experience from Amazon, where he led technology and supply chain operations for its worldwide grocery business. Before Amazon, he also held roles at Oracle.
Starbucks’ Recent Performance and Strategy
In late October, Starbucks reported its first quarter of comparable sales growth in nearly a year and a half. The gains reflect some early returns from CEO Niccol’s extensive turnaround efforts in the United States.
Focus on Technology and Efficiency
With Varadarajan on board, Starbucks plans to continue modernizing store operations, leveraging technology to streamline workflows, reduce labor inefficiencies, and enhance the customer experience.
