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Starbucks Names Anand Varadarajan as Chief Technology Officer
- Starbucks names Anand Varadarajan as Chief Technology Officer, joining the Executive Leadership Team under CEO Brian Niccol.
- A longtime Amazon leader, he brings expertise in large-scale retail and supply chain technology.
- Varadarajan will drive global tech upgrades to boost store efficiency and digital growth.
Starbucks has appointed Indian-origin technology executive Anand Varadarajan as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company accelerates its global technology transformation.
Varadarajan will take charge on January 19 and will join Starbucks’ Executive Leadership Team. He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol. He succeeds Deb Hall Lefevre, who stepped down from the role in September. Since then, Ningyu Chen had been serving as interim CTO.
The appointment comes at a key moment for Starbucks as it works to modernize store operations, improve labor efficiency, and enhance customer experience through technology. The company said Varadarajan will lead its global technology organization and play a central role in advancing digital capabilities across markets.
Varadarajan brings nearly two decades of experience from Amazon, where he spent close to 19 years in leadership roles. Most recently, he headed technology and supply chain systems for Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores business. His work involved building large-scale platforms that supported complex retail and logistics operations while keeping customer needs at the core.
Before Amazon, Varadarajan worked as a software engineer at Oracle and with several technology startups, giving him a strong foundation across enterprise systems and fast-growing tech environments.
Starbucks said Varadarajan is known for developing secure, reliable, and scalable systems that support operational excellence. CEO Brian Niccol noted that his experience will be critical as Starbucks continues to invest in digital tools to support stores and partners worldwide.
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Varadarajan is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University, along with a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Washington.
Outside work, Starbucks shared that Varadarajan is a passionate runner aiming to complete all seven World Marathon Majors. He is also a coffee enthusiast who enjoys starting his day with a tall latte or a cup of brewed coffee.
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