Making Indians proud again, this Punekar, Laxman Narasimhan, assumed office at global coffee giant Starbucks as its CEO on Monday after the company had announced him taking over the company back in September last year.
A mechanical engineer from the College of Engineering Pune (COEP), Narasimhan joined Tata-owned Starbucks as the interim CEO in October 2022. Having lived and worked in countries like the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, he has a hold on multiple languages, reported Times Now.
Born and brought up in Pune, the 55-year-old man also became an expert barista making him worthy of leading the coffee brand. With around three decades of experience in companies like Pepsico, McKinsey and Company, and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, he now succeeds the founder of the company, Howard Schultz, at Starbucks.
After completing his engineering from India, Narasimhan did an MA in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute at The University of Pennsylvania. He also completed his Master of Business Administration in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.
According to Starbucks, “Laxman speaks six languages and has experience working globally across the private sector, public sector, and social sector. He is a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Build Back Better Council, and a member of Verizon’s Board of Directors.”
In a statement released by the company, the new CEO was quoted as saying, “I am humbled to officially step into my role as Starbucks chief executive officer, leading our incredible team of more than 450,000 green apron partners around the world.”
Apparently, he joined the company’s board of directors and started working at Starbucks in October of last year, said reports.
Watching Indians take over big companies like this makes us proud. May your tribe grow.