The hybrid work trend now includes the incoming CEO of Starbucks.
The Seattle-based coffee giant said in a regulatory filing that it is creating a new remote office in Newport Beach, Calif., where its new CEO, Brian Niccol, is currently based. The company will also hire an assistant at the office for Niccol, the former Chipotle CEO.
Niccol’s primary office will be in Seattle, but the flexibility is notable given the debate over return-to-office policies — including at Starbucks, which last year directed corporate employees to come back to the office three days a week.
“During your employment with the Company, you will not be required to relocate to the Company’s headquarters (currently in Seattle, Washington),” Starbucks said in an addendum to its Aug. 11 offer letter to Niccol. “You agree to commute from your residence to the Company’s headquarters (and engage in other business travel) as is required to perform your duties and responsibilities.”
In January 2023, Starbucks asked corporate employees to return to the office a minimum of three days a week, to “rebuild and revive the energy” of its headquarters and regional offices
“We are a company rooted in human connection. We must have authentic and deep human connection everywhere we work,” Howard Schultz, the company’s longtime leader who was interim CEO at the time, wrote in a January 2023 memo. “We need to rebuild that. Failing to do so as we emerge from the pandemic puts us at a great loss, depriving us of vital relationships and the impromptu connections and idea generation that comes from convening in person.”
Starbucks spokesperson Emily Albright told GeekWire that “Brian’s schedule will exceed the hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations we have for all partners.”
“Brian’s primary office and a majority of his time will be spent in our Seattle Support Center or our visiting partners and customers in our stores, roasteries, roasting facilities and offices around the world,” Albright said in a statement.
Perhaps the ability to continue spending time in sunny Southern California helped convince Niccol to join Starbucks from his perch at Chipotle, where helped the company grow sales and supercharge its stock price over the past six years.
Starbucks is paying Niccol a cash signing bonus of $10 million, with a stock equity award of $75 million. He will be paid an annual base salary of $1.6 million.
He’ll also have an annual cash incentive opportunity at a target of 225% of his base salary, and a maximum of 450% of his base salary, in addition to annual equity awards worth up to $23 million, starting in fiscal 2025.
Niccol, who previously led Taco Bell, starts at Starbucks Sept. 9.
The company’s fourth CEO in the past two years, Niccol replaces Laxman Narasimhan, who was under scrutiny as Starbucks has struggled with declining sales and increasing activist investor campaigns.
Starbucks’ stock was up more than 20% following the announcement of Niccol’s new role Tuesday.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional context from Starbucks.