Starbucks has completed its search for a new chief technology officer following Deb Hall Lefevre’s retirement in September. According to an official message statement shared on the coffee chain’s website, Indian-origin Anand Varadarajan will be joining the team as not only the CTO but also the executive vice president, starting January 19, 2026.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol noted that once Varadarajan joins in, he’ll be a member of the Executive Leadership Team, as he leads the Starbucks Technology organisation. Given his prominence as a senior technology and operations executive, Varadarajan will directly report to the company CEO. Till the time he steps in, Ningyu Chen is serving as the interim CTO.
Who is Anand Varadarajan?
Prior to his Starbucks leap, the Indian-origin professional was associated with Amazon for nearly 19 years, as he spent all that time building technology with a customers-first vision in mind, while also maintaining the team’s speed and agility. His final position at Amazon, which is currently ongoing, sees him sit in the Vice President, Worldwide Grocery Technology and Supply Chain, seat.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he previously led the technology, science, product and marketing teams for Amazon Private Brands. Other than that, his Starbucks welcoming profile details that he even held software engineering roles at Oracle and worked for several startups.
Anand Varadarajan got his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). He also master’s degrees in civil engineering from Purdue and in computer science from the University of Washington.
Niccol’s statement on the Starbucks website further noted, “Outside of work, he’s an avid runner aiming to complete all seven World Marathon Majors. He’s also a coffee enthusiast and starts most days with a tall latte or brewed coffee, followed by an order of Starbucks egg bites for lunch.”
Tech-driven revamp brought Anand Varadarajan to Starbucks
Amid the brand’s tech-focussed “Back to Starbucks” initiative, Deb Hall Lefevre resigned from her post as the company’s CTO despite no permanent replacement in sight at the time, as per an internal memo seen by Reuters.
Hall Lefevre’s resignation amid a digital overhaul came shortly after Starbucks announced plans to lay off around 900 non-retail employees in addition to shutting down underperforming stores in the US and Canada. Back in February, the company had already cut 1,100 corporate professionals.
The changes were especially set in motion by CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the brand last year, to make Starbucks technologically advance.
