Starbucks headquarters building south of downtown Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Starbucks is taking some heat for its decision to set up a remote office for its new CEO.
GeekWire earlier this month reported on a hybrid work arrangement for Brian Niccol, the former Chipotle CEO who was tapped to lead the struggling Seattle coffee giant.
The arrangement, revealed in a regulatory filing, doesn’t require Niccol to be based at the company’s Seattle headquarters and creates a new remote office in Newport Beach, Calif., where he currently resides.
Starbucks says the Seattle HQ will be Niccol’s primary office, and he’ll still be required to follow the company’s hybrid work policy, which went into effect last year and mandates corporate employees to be in the office three days per week.
A flurry of news stories and social media posts have zeroed in on the climate impact from Niccol’s commute on a corporate jet from Southern California to Seattle, which is around 1,000 miles each way.
“When your CEO is commuting 1,000 miles by private jet, it’s tough to keep a straight face while touting your company’s sustainability goals,” wrote Jeremy Goldman, a senior director at EMARKETER.
Starbucks set a goal in 2020 to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within a decade.
Fast Company reported that if Niccol commuted once a week on Starbucks’ jet, it would emit 1,000 tons of CO2 annually — more than 60 times the annual emissions from the average American.
It’s not clear how often Niccol will fly between Southern California to Seattle. Niccol plans to have a home in Seattle.
Other critics called out the special work arrangement and the impact on other employees.
“Niccol needs to lead by example, empower and embolden corporate employees to tackle big challenges, and act as an ignitor and an incubator for their very best ideas,” wrote Ryan Serhant, CEO of SERHANT. “I doubt he can do that from the beach, but if he can, so can everyone else at the corporate level. Niccol has to decide — which is it going to be?”
Brian Niccol. (Chipotle Photo) It’s not totally unusual for companies to have remote CEOs. Victoria’s Secret last week hired Hillary Super as its new CEO; she’ll be based in New York City, not at the Columbus, Ohio headquarters.
Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones, who joined the dating company in January, lives in the Boston area. Bumble is based in Austin, Texas.
Former Boeing CEO David Calhoun never relocated to Arlington, Va., where the aviation giant is based. Kelly Ortberg, the company’s new CEO, is relocating to Seattle, close to manufacturing operations.
Perhaps the ability to continue spending time in California helped convince Niccol to join Starbucks from his perch at Chipotle, where helped the company grow sales and supercharge its stock price over the past six years.
Starbucks also offered Niccol a handsome pay package, including an initial base salary of $1.6 million — that’s 23% more than what he got paid at Chipotle— as well as a $10 million sign-on bonus, and an “equity replacement grant” worth up to $80 million. He can also earn up to $23 million in annual equity awards.
Niccol, who previously led Taco Bell, moved Chipotle’s headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach when he took over the burrito behemoth in 2018.
Niccol is the fourth CEO at Starbucks in the past two years. He replaces Laxman Narasimhan, who was under scrutiny as Starbucks has dealt with declining sales and increasing activist investor campaigns.
Starbucks’ stock was up more than 20% following the announcement of Niccol’s new role. He starts at Starbucks Sept. 9.
“As a global business serving customers in more than 80 global markets, Brian will be present and engaged with our partners, customers and stakeholders to ensure our long-term success,” Starbucks said in a statement to GeekWire. “His track record demonstrates his ability to foster connections, drive a strong culture and deliver results.”
Related: What the new Starbucks CEO could mean for the coffee giant’s digital future
