Starbucks' North America CEO is retiring after only 8 months on the job — and he won't be replaced
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- Michael Conway, Starbucks' North America CEO, is retiring in November, without a replacement.
- Sara Trilling, Starbucks' North American President will lead retail operations in the region.
- Conway took up the newly created role in April after a leadership restructuring.
Michael Conway, Starbucks' North America CEO, is calling it quits after just eight months on the job—and the coffee giant isn't going to replace him.
Conway informed the company of his decision last week, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday.
Before stepping into the North American CEO role in April, he served as the group president of international and channel development and president of Starbucks Canada. Conway was the first person to fill the newly-created role in a bid to reorganize the company's regional leadership by former CEO Laxman Narasimhan, Bloomberg reported in March.
He will remain with the company to assist with the leadership transition until his retirement on November 30, ending 11 years at Starbucks, per the company.
Rather than replacing Conway, the company announced that Sara Trilling, Starbucks' North American president, will lead retail operations across the region.
Trilling had served the company for 22 years and previously was senior vice president of its north division, where she oversaw 3,500 stores, per Starbucks.
The company's decision to streamline its leadership structure aims to boost efficiency in decision-making, Starbucks told the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Conway's retirement comes shortly after another significant shake-up in the company's leadership as Brian Niccol, former CEO of Chipotle, officially took over as Starbucks' new top executive last week.
While Niccol's arrival marks a significant shift in the company's leadership, Starbucks was no stranger to having a rotating door of C-suite executives, wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Lauren Silberman in August. Other recent departures included former chief operating officers John Culver and Roz Brewer, who left Starbucks in 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Operational issues have plagued Starbucks in its North American stores, as increasingly complex drink orders, rising prices, and fluctuating foot traffic have strained staff and impacted profitability. The company also faced public criticism from former CEO Howard Schultz and pressure from public boycotts.
Niccol already plans to transform the company's operations and focus on the customer experience, he said in a note about his plans last week.
Starbucks did not respond to a comment sent by Business Insider outside business hours.