New Delhi: Global coffee chain Starbucks has named Anand Varadarajan, a technology executive of Indian origin, as its new executive vice president and chief technology officer, marking a significant addition to the company’s senior leadership.
Varadarajan is set to assume the role on January 19 and will become part of Starbucks’ Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol. He steps into the position following the retirement of Deb Hall Lefevre, who concluded her tenure in September.
Before joining Starbucks, Varadarajan spent nearly two decades at Amazon, where he played a key role in building and managing large-scale technology platforms. In his most recent position, he led technology and supply chain systems for Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores business. His career also includes earlier stints as a software engineer at Oracle and work with several technology startups.
In announcing the appointment, Starbucks highlighted Varadarajan’s track record in designing dependable, secure systems and scaling technology to support complex operations, while maintaining a strong focus on customer experience. The company said his expertise would be central to advancing its digital transformation efforts across markets.
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.
Starbucks noted that his leadership is expected to strengthen its global technology infrastructure and drive innovation as the company continues to expand its digital and operational capabilities worldwide.
