Starbucks has named Nordstrom's Cathy Smith as its finance chief, hiring a retail industry veteran to aid CEO Brian Niccol's efforts to turn around the coffee giant.
Smith will join after leading the finance operations at department store chain Nordstrom about two years. Prior to that, Smith was the chief finance officer at big-box retailer Target for five years.
Smith replaces Rachel Ruggeri, who had been with Starbucks for a little over 20 years and became the CFO in 2021.
Niccol, who was hired from Chipotle last year, has put in place the 'Back to Starbucks' plan that is focused on streamlining business through job cuts and by improving customer experience at its US stores.
Earlier this year, Niccol appointed chief operating officer of Taco Bell, Mike Grams, to the newly created role of North America chief stores officer.
Job Cuts
Recently, the coffee chain said it would eliminate 1,100 corporate roles as part of turnaround efforts at the coffee chain, which has been struggling with falling sales.
Starbucks employs about 211,000 people in the US and around 150,000 employees internationally, according to its 2024 report.
Earlier, Starbucks reported a smaller-than-expected fall in first-quarter comparable sales, in early signs that the struggling coffee chain was benefiting from Niccol's efforts to revive demand.
The coffee giant's global same-store sales fell 4% in the three months ended 20 December, compared with analysts' expectations of a 4.6% fall, according to data compiled by LSEG.
