Starbucks Taps Chipotle's Niccol as CEO in Surprise Move, Shares Soar

STARBUCKS - NEW YORK. Starbucks on Tuesday named Chipotle Mexican Grill head Brian Niccol as its new CEO, poaching a successful fast-food executive known for reviving the burrito chain to lead a turnaround, in a shock move that sent the coffee chain's shares up 24%.

Niccol replaces Laxman Narasimhan, whose tenure only lasted a year-and-a-half after he was originally brought in as CEO in March 2023 to engineer a "reinvention" of the world's biggest coffee chain. Since then, the stock has continued to falter, losing nearly one-quarter of its value.