Meet the US$27 billion CEO. He may actually be worth it

Can a single person radically affect a huge company’s fortunes? The market thinks incoming Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol can. (Image: Rozette Rago for the Wall Street Journal)

The Wall Street Journal

Sun, 01 Sep 2024

By Ben CohenBefore last month, most people had never heard of Brian Niccol. If he had walked into a Starbucks, nobody would have recognised him. A barista might even have spelled his name wrong.But that was before Starbucks poached him from Chipotle in the sort of move that made investors spit out their coffee. The slumping company gave its new CEO everything he could have possibly wanted: a remote office in Southern California, a corporate plane for commuting to Seattle and a venti-sized pay package worth more than US$100 million (NZ$160m...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}