Starbucks Org Chart: Corporate Structure, Board of Directors and Executive Leadership (2026)

Last updated September 27, 2026

As of September 27, 2026, Starbucks Corporation is led by Brian Niccol, chairman and chief executive officer, with Cathy Smith as evp, chief financial officer. Niccol also chairs the 11-member board, and the 2026 proxy statement names Jørgen Vig Knudstorp lead independent director. Starbucks reports three segments (North America, International and Channel Development) and had 41,304 company-operated and licensed stores in 90 markets at June 28, 2026.

Sources: Starbucks Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed November 14, 2025), Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 28, 2026 (dated July 29, 2026), the 2026 proxy statement (dated January 26, 2026), the third quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call (July 29, 2026), and the Starbucks investor relations Board of Directors and Executive Leadership pages (viewed September 27, 2026).

Starbucks key facts

Legal name	Starbucks Corporation (10-K FY2025, cover)
State of incorporation	Washington (10-K FY2025, cover)
Headquarters	2401 Utah Avenue South, Seattle, Washington 98134 (10-K FY2025, cover)
Ticker and exchange	SBUX, Nasdaq Global Select Market (10-K FY2025, cover)
Website	starbucks.com (10-K FY2025, Item 1)
Fiscal year	Ends on the Sunday closest to September 30 (10-K FY2025, Item 7)
Fiscal 2025 net revenue	$37.2 billion ($37,184.4 million), year ended September 28, 2025 (10-K FY2025, Item 8)
Q3 fiscal 2026 net revenue	$9.3 billion ($9,322.7 million); GAAP diluted EPS $0.91; quarter ended June 28, 2026 (10-Q Q3 FY2026, Item 1)
Employees	About 381,000 worldwide, about 223,000 in the U.S., as of September 28, 2025 (10-K FY2025, Item 1)
Stores	41,304 (13,613 company-operated, 27,691 licensed) as of June 28, 2026 (10-Q Q3 FY2026, Item 2)
Markets	90 (10-Q Q3 FY2026, Item 2)
Reportable segments	North America; International; Channel Development (plus Corporate and Other) (10-Q Q3 FY2026, Note 16)
Brands	Starbucks Coffee, Teavana, Ethos, Starbucks Reserve (10-K FY2025, Item 1)
Independent auditor	Deloitte & Touche LLP, auditor since 1987 (10-K FY2025, Item 8)

What Starbucks filings tell sellers

Starbucks strategic priorities: the Back to Starbucks plan

Starbucks announced its “Back to Starbucks” plan in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. The 2026 proxy sets four goals: offer the best job in retail, be the world’s greatest customer service company, be the community coffeehouse, and be visible, relevant, growing and loved everywhere. The Q3 fiscal 2026 10-Q names the programs carrying it: the Green Apron Service standard, a redesigned Starbucks Rewards program, menu innovation and coffeehouse uplifts. A pitch tied to one of those four goals starts in the words the leadership team already uses.

The full Databahn report ties each goal to the executive who owns it and the questions that open that conversation.

What Starbucks executives are paid to deliver

For fiscal 2025, 75% of the executive bonus rode on adjusted net revenue and adjusted operating income, and 25% on individual goals tied to Back to Starbucks. Performance stock units granted in fiscal 2025 split evenly between three-year adjusted EPS and comparable store sales; for fiscal 2026 the split moves to 60% comparable store sales and 40% EPS. A separate Back to Starbucks grant pays nothing unless operating expenses fall at least $800 million cumulatively across fiscal 2026 and 2027, then scales on Green Apron Service running in more than 75% of U.S. company-operated stores, more than 2,250 coffeehouse uplifts, new food and beverage platforms and a relaunched Rewards program (2026 proxy, CD&A). Sellers who show which of these numbers they move are speaking the terms leadership is scored on.

The full Databahn report maps each metric to the executive who owns it and the questions that start that discussion.

Starbucks spending and capital plans

Capital expenditures were $2.3 billion in fiscal 2025 and $887.8 million in the first three quarters of fiscal 2026, and management expects the fiscal 2026 total to come in below fiscal 2025 (10-Q, Item 2). On the July 29, 2026 call, management said it remains on track for $2 billion in gross cost savings through fiscal 2028, spread across product and distribution costs, operating expenses and G&A. Coffeehouse uplifts cost about $150,000 each on average, and management is moving near-term development resources toward them. Money is flowing to uplifts and cost cuts first, and a proposal that fits one of those two lines has a budget to land in.

The full Databahn report shows which executives control each budget line and what they are likely to ask a new vendor.

Starbucks acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures

On March 30, 2026, Starbucks sold a 60% interest in its China retail business to Boyu Capital at a total enterprise value of about $4 billion, kept 40%, and continues to license the brand to the joint venture. The 7,991 company-operated stores in China became licensed stores, and Starbucks recorded a $536.3 million pre-tax gain (10-Q, Note 2). In October 2024 it bought 23.5 Degrees Topco Limited, a U.K. licensee, converting 113 stores to company-operated (10-K, Note 2). China store operations now run inside a joint venture Starbucks does not consolidate, which changes the buying entity for anything sold into those stores.

The full Databahn report covers how each deal moves decision rights and the questions buyers on each side are likely to raise.

Starbucks technology and AI initiatives

The CEO’s letter in the 2026 proxy cites two in-store tools, Green Dot Assist and Smart Queue, and the CD&A credits a Virtual Coach tool for coffeehouse leaders and a partner resource hub rolled out to EMEA. On the Q3 call, Brian Niccol described fiscal 2027 as “an important modernization year” with new inventory ordering, staffing and scheduling, and point-of-sale systems, and said delivery ordering is coming to the Starbucks app through a white-label partner. The 10-K lists artificial intelligence and machine learning among the capabilities Starbucks says it must keep building. A fiscal 2027 system replacement cycle sets the calendar for anyone selling software, hardware or services around the store.

The full Databahn report names the leaders behind each system change and the questions to ask before those buying cycles open.

Starbucks risk factors and pressure points

North America produced about 74% of fiscal 2025 net revenue, and the 10-K lists that concentration as a risk (Item 1A). Other named pressures include green coffee prices and tariffs, union representation at about 6% of U.S. company-operated stores, reliance on Nestlé for Channel Development, and attacks on point-of-sale, mobile, payment and loyalty systems. Each one is a topic management has already told investors it is watching, so a vendor who reduces one of them gets a hearing.

The full Databahn report connects each risk to the executive who owns it and the questions that executive is likely to ask back.

How vendors get approved at Starbucks

Starbucks runs a risk-based third-party risk management program that includes cybersecurity assessments, cybersecurity obligations written into agreements, and external monitoring sources. It also keeps a global privacy program covering how personal data is collected, used, shared and stored, and benchmarks its security program against the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (10-K, Item 1C). Vendors who arrive with security and privacy documentation ready spend less time in review.

The full Databahn report outlines who takes part in that review and the questions they tend to put to vendors.

Who owns security and data decisions at Starbucks

A senior vice president, chief information security officer, with more than 20 years in the field, leads the cybersecurity program; the filings do not name the officer. The CISO meets regularly with IT leaders and with the Risk Management Committee, which is co-managed by the CFO and the chief legal officer and meets at least quarterly. The board’s Audit and Compliance Committee, chaired by Andrew Campion, oversees cybersecurity, technology and data privacy risk and gets quarterly updates from the CISO’s team (10-K, Item 1C; 2026 proxy). Security purchases touch three levels (the CISO, the CFO and chief legal officer committee, and the board), and each has its own questions.

The full Databahn report identifies the security and data leaders by name and the questions each is likely to ask a new vendor.

Starbucks leadership changes

Cathy Smith became evp, chief financial officer on March 24, 2025, after Rachel Ruggeri’s departure on March 7, 2025, with Val Bauduin as interim CFO in between. Mike Grams joined in February 2025 and has been chief operating officer since June 2025. Pilar Ramos joined as evp, chief legal officer in November 2025. Marissa Mayer and Dambisa Moyo joined the board on June 25, 2025, and Mellody Hobson retired from it in March 2025 (2026 proxy; 10-K, Item 1). The Q3 fiscal 2026 10-Q is signed by Val Bauduin as principal accounting officer, a role Cathy Smith held in the fiscal 2025 10-K. The investor relations site also lists five evps outside the 10-K officer list: Dominic Carr, Tressie Lieberman, Stephen Piacentini, Sanjay Shah and Anand Varadarajan. Leaders in their first year or two in a seat are still setting priorities and vendor lists.

The full Databahn report shows what each new leader is responsible for and the questions that fit their first-year agenda.

Starbucks systems and business transformations

The Q3 fiscal 2026 10-Q reports no change in internal control over financial reporting that materially affected it during the quarter (Item 4). The bigger changes are operational: China was deconsolidated on March 30, 2026; a fiscal 2026 restructuring plan covers the global support organization, non-retail facilities and the Starbucks Reserve and Roastery locations, and restructuring and impairment charges reached $302.6 million in the quarter, $292.6 million of it under the fiscal 2026 plans; and some support functions are moving to a new office in Nashville, Tennessee (Note 17). About 90% of the international store base now runs under licenses, per the Q3 call. Restructuring, relocation and a licensed model shift reset which teams buy and where they sit.

The full Databahn report maps each transformation to its owner and the questions that surface a need early.

Starbucks shareholder pressure

Nine items went to the March 25, 2026 annual meeting, six of them shareholder proposals. The board made no recommendation on replacing supermajority voting requirements with majority voting, and opposed an independent board chair policy and four report requests covering healthcare coverage, benefits, charity vetting and the employee gift-match program (2026 proxy). Vote results are not in the filings used for this page. In fiscal 2025 the company offered engagement calls to shareholders holding nearly 60% of outstanding shares. These are the governance topics the board has already had to answer in public.

The full Databahn report covers which directors lead these topics and the questions they bring to outside partners.

Starbucks locations by territory

At June 28, 2026, Starbucks had 18,371 stores in North America and 22,933 in International (10-Q, Item 2). The 10-K breaks stores out by market as of September 28, 2025, shown below. China’s 7,991 company-operated stores converted to licensed stores on March 30, 2026.

Market	Company-operated	Licensed
U.S.	10,047	6,813
Canada	967	480
China	8,009	Not broken out
Japan	1,883	Not broken out
U.K.	524	900
Korea	Not broken out	2,077
Latin America	Not broken out	1,813
Turkey	Not broken out	762
Taiwan	Not broken out	592
Indonesia	Not broken out	597
Thailand	Not broken out	550
Philippines	Not broken out	520

Source: Starbucks Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1, store data as of September 28, 2025.

Major roasting, distribution and office sites as of September 28, 2025 (10-K, Item 2): York, Pennsylvania (1,957,000 sq ft, roasting and distribution); Seattle, Washington (1,294,000 sq ft, corporate); Minden, Nevada (1,080,000 sq ft, roasting and distribution); Auburn, Washington (750,000 sq ft); Lebanon, Tennessee (680,000 sq ft); Kunshan, China (630,000 sq ft, roasting and distribution); Kent, Washington (510,000 sq ft, roasting); and Shanghai, China (221,000 sq ft, corporate). Store density by market tells a seller where rollouts are large enough to matter.

The full Databahn report pairs each territory with the regional leaders who run it and the questions to ask them.

What Starbucks management told analysts

On the July 29, 2026 call, management reported third quarter global comparable store sales up 7.9%, U.S. comparable sales up 7.9% (transactions up 4.2%, average ticket up 3.6%), a non-GAAP operating margin of 14.4% and non-GAAP EPS of $0.85. It raised fiscal 2026 guidance to non-GAAP EPS of $2.55–$2.65 and a non-GAAP consolidated operating margin above 11%, called for fourth quarter U.S. comparable sales of 6.5% or better, kept its target of 600–650 net new coffeehouses, and set a goal of at least 1,500 coffeehouse uplifts by fiscal year-end. The fourth quarter call is tentatively set for October 29, 2026. These are the numbers management will be judged on in October, and the priorities a vendor’s timing should follow.

The full Databahn report turns each commitment into the questions that connect a solution to it.

Starbucks org chart FAQ

Who is the CEO of Starbucks?

Brian Niccol is chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks. He joined in September 2024 after serving as CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill from 2018 to 2024.

Who is the CFO of Starbucks?

Cathy Smith is evp, chief financial officer of Starbucks. She joined in March 2025 from Nordstrom, where she was Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

Who is on the Starbucks board of directors?

Starbucks has 11 directors: Brian Niccol (chairman), Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (lead independent director), Ritch Allison, Andrew Campion, Beth Ford, Marissa Mayer, Neal Mohan, Dambisa Moyo, Daniel Servitje, Mike Sievert and Wei Zhang. All except Niccol are independent, per the 2026 proxy statement.

Who is on the Starbucks executive leadership team?

Brian Niccol leads a team of Cathy Smith (CFO), Mike Grams (COO), Brady Brewer (ceo, Starbucks International), Pilar Ramos (chief legal officer), Sara Kelly (chief partner officer), Dominic Carr, Tressie Lieberman, Stephen Piacentini, Sanjay Shah and Anand Varadarajan, per the Starbucks investor relations site.

How is Starbucks organized?

Starbucks reports three segments: North America (U.S. and Canada), International and Channel Development, plus Corporate and Other. North America produced about 74% of fiscal 2025 net revenue, International 21% and Channel Development 5%.

What companies and joint ventures does Starbucks own?

Starbucks owns 23.5 Degrees Topco Limited in the U.K., a 40% interest in its China retail joint venture with Boyu Capital, 50% of Tata Starbucks Limited in India and 50% of the North American Coffee Partnership with the Pepsi-Cola Company. Its brands include Teavana, Ethos and Starbucks Reserve.

How many stores does Starbucks have?

Starbucks had 41,304 stores as of June 28, 2026: 13,613 company-operated and 27,691 licensed, across 90 markets.

Who oversees cybersecurity at Starbucks?

A senior vice president, chief information security officer leads the cybersecurity program. The board’s Audit and Compliance Committee, chaired by Andrew Campion, oversees cybersecurity and data privacy risk and receives quarterly updates from the CISO’s team.

What’s in the full Databahn report on Starbucks

This page covers what Starbucks has disclosed publicly. The full report adds:

• Positioning against the incumbent vendor in your category at Starbucks
• Which Starbucks executives to call, and in what order
• The discovery questions that fit Starbucks’ current priorities
• The questions Starbucks buyers are likely to ask you back

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