SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - World's largest specialty coffee retailer Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) has Wednesday conducted a management rejig in order to accelerate its innovation and growth as well as to strengthen its three-region operating model.
'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,' Chairman, President and CEO Howard Schultz said in a statement.
Seattle-based America's iconic coffee brand has named Lucy Lee Helm, a Starbucks employee for more than 12 years, as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary.
The company also named Arthur Rubinfeld as chief creative officer and president of Global Development and Evolution Fresh Retail. Rubinfeld was responsible for the design of the company's first Evolution Fresh juice store which opened in March.
Meanwhile, Starbucks appointed Annie Young-Scrivner as executive vice president and president of Starbucks Canada, the company's largest market outside the U.S. Colin Moore was named senior vice president of Enterprise Optimization.
Further, Craig Russell, who most recently served as senior vice president of U.S. Store Services, has been named senior vice president of Global Coffee. Russell will succeed the retiring Dub Hay and will serve as the company voice and advocate for coffee and its business strategy.
The company said Helm, Rubinfeld, and Russell will report to Schultz, while Moore will report to CFO Troy Alstead, and Young-Scrivner will report to Cliff Burrows, president, Americas and U.S. Russell will also join the senior leadership team.
'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,' Schultz added.
SBUX closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $53.02, down $0.32 or 0.60% on a volume of 7.91 million shares.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
