Anand Varadarajan, an Indian-born technology professional, has been appointed by Starbucks as its new executive vice president and chief technology officer (CTO), bringing in a nearly two-decade veteran of Amazon to oversee its worldwide technology operations.
According to Starbucks, Varadarajan will assume leadership on January 19, become a member of the Executive Leadership Team, and answer directly to Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol. Deb Hall Lefevre, who retired in September, is succeeded by him.
Varadarajan built large-scale, customer-focused technology systems at Amazon for nearly 19 years. Most recently, he oversaw supply chain and technology for the company’s Worldwide Grocery Stores division. He was formerly employed by Oracle and a number of startups as a software engineer.
According to Starbucks, Varadarajan has extensive experience creating dependable, safe systems and expanding technology to enhance operational excellence while putting consumers first.
Varadarajan is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) with master’s degrees in computer science from the University of Washington and civil engineering from Purdue University.
Varadarajan’s employment, according to Starbucks, is anticipated to boost digital capabilities throughout its international business and expedite its technology efforts.
