At a time when most employees struggle in public transport daily to reach the office and people are becoming aware of the climate crisis, the news is that Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol will fly 1600 kilometres daily in a private jet for work. Yes, you read that right!
After Indian-American business executive Laxman Narasimhan‘s departure as the CEO of Starbucks, the coffee giant has now announced Brian Niccol as their new CEO from September 2024.However, Niccol will have an unusual commuting arrangement with the company. Niccols, who lives in California, will be commuting to Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle via a private jet every day, instead of relocating to his new work location, as per several reports. With this arrangement in place, Niccol will be traveling 1,600 kilometres at least three days per week, as Starbucks has a hybrid work policy.

Explaining Niccol’s work schedule and responsibilities at Starbucks, a spokesperson from the company said, as per reports, “A majority of Brian’s time will be spent at our Seattle Support Center, visiting our stores, roasteries, and other facilities worldwide.”
As the new CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol, 50, will have a base salary of $1.6 million per year. On top of this, he would get a performance-based cash bonus which could be from $3.6 million to $7.2 million. And he will also get annual equity awards up to $23 million, as per reports.
Before Starbucks, Niccol was the CEO of Chipotle since 2018, and he had a unique commuting arrangement there too. Since Chipotle’s headquarters was in Denver and Niccol lives in California, the company’s headquarters was shifted from Denver to California for Niccol. However, under his leadership, Chipotle’s stock rose by 772%, as per reports. As Starbucks is facing a decline in its sales in the US and China, the company hopes that bringing Niccol as the new CEO would help them improve their profits.
While the news of Starbucks’ new CEO travelling 1600 kms via a private jet amused some people, few others have called out the CEO and the company for being indifferent towards the growing climate crisis. A user named mahi_veyyyyy said on Instagram, “Wow what a great initiative to increase carbon footprints on a daily basis 👏👏👏….Sustainability my foot…. The bloody double standards and hypocrisy of these big brands,” another user named priyal bhiwapurkar said, “And they make cups and straws sustainable! :)”. Some netizens also commented on the faulty hybrid work mode, wherein employees are supposed to come to office for a few days per week. “Just work from home bro,” dev_vrat_tripathi wrote on Instagram, resonating with the sentiments of many others.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that such unusual steps have been taken by a company for their CEOs. For instance, Rihanna’s lingerie brand Fenty x Savage’s new CEO Hillary Super was also given a similar arrangement. On being appointed as the CEO, she worked from New York City instead of working from the company’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.
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