Indian-origin technology executive Anand Varadarajan has been appointed as the new executive vice president and chief technology officer (CTO) of Starbucks.
Varadarajan, who is an Amazon veteran, will take charge on January 19, join the company’s Executive Leadership Team, and report directly to Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol, Starbucks said. He succeeds Deb Hall Lefevre, who retired in September.
At Amazon, Varadarajan spent close to 19 years building large-scale, customer-focused technology platforms, most recently overseeing technology and supply chain for its Worldwide Grocery Stores business. Previous to this, he worked as a software engineer at Oracle and with several startups.
Starbucks said Varadarajan’s appointment is expected to accelerate its technology initiatives and strengthen digital capabilities across its global business.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Varadarajan holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Washington.
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