On this week’s episode of Fortune‘s Leadership Next podcast, co-hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram talk with Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO of Starbucks. Narasimhan explains how his six-month immersion in stores around the world convinced him Starbucks cafes are ripe for human connection, and how he plans to balance this emphasis on connection with shareholder returns.
He also shares more details about Starbucks's upcoming growth plan and why this is the right time to open thousands of new stores around the world. Additionally, Narasimhan gives his take on the state of Chinese and Western relations and how they affect Starbucks's business. We also hear about how his personal story of growing up in India impacts his approach to leadership.
