Starbucks Corp.’s hunt for a new chief executive officer has no shortage of complications: The coffee giant’s crucial China business is sputtering and its US stores are grappling with unionization efforts, potential turnoffs for plum candidates. The company lacks natural internal successors after the departure last year of two C-suite leaders.
And the leader will face the delicate matter of managing a seamless transition with Howard Schultz, the charismatic Starbucks honcho who is now serving a third stint as CEO and plans to stick around for a bit to help the new boss get settled.
“They’re just walking into a lot of economic, supply-chain and labor headwinds; it’s a tough job,” said Craig Buffkin, managing partner at recruiter Buffkin Baker. Referring to the executive-search firm involved in Starbucks’s process, Buffkin said, “I don’t envy Russell Reynolds in this search.”
