Laxman Narasimhan has been CEO of Starbucks Espresso Firm for simply over a 12 months. In that point, he informed Fortune final month, he’s been capable of attempt many Starbucks drinks—and even study to organize the complete menu as a barista. Regardless of his stature because the number-one at Starbucks, he doesn’t have fancy style. His go-to drink prices simply $3.35—on the decrease finish for the ever-present espresso chain, whose costs can value as a lot as $5.95 for a seasonal pumpkin spice frappuccino.
“My favorite go-to drink at Starbucks is the Doppio Espresso Macchiato with some hot milk on the side,” Narasimhan stated. He added that he prefers skim milk, as a result of it’s the closest method of replicating the style of South Indian espresso when within the U.S. Narasimhan is from Pune, a big metropolis in southwest India.
Infrequently, the CEO—whose prolonged résumé features a lengthy C-level profession at PepsiCo—will indulge in additional ritzy Starbucks choices. He stated he’s tasted and been “very amazingly surprised” by the whiskey barrel-aged Guatemalan espresso, which is offered at Starbucks Roastery shops. “It has no alcohol. It has a cube of ice, and it’s a wonderful drink that I’ve enjoyed deeply.”
Narasimhan honed his various style by means of the 40 hours he spent coaching—and 6 months he spent working—as a barista alongside Starbucks companions whereas gearing up for the CEO gig. “The idea was to really immerse myself in the business, understand the culture, understand it from a partner’s lens, and also get really good at coffee, which I love drinking,” he informed Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram on an episode of the Management Subsequent podcast. Working in shops throughout the continents gave Narasimhan “a real lens into what it meant” to be a Starbucks worker.
Since taking the reins from erstwhile CEO and firm founder Howard Schultz, Narasimhan has made clear his intentions to prioritize Starbucks company’s relationship with its in-store employees. Current profitable monetary outcomes, he stated, proved that his efforts had been paying off. Earlier this month, the chain reported an 11.4% bump in quarterly gross sales, equaling $9.37 billion. It additionally shared plans so as to add almost 15,000 new areas, principally outdoors the U.S. That’s alongside its present greater than 20,000 non-U.S. shops.
Narasimhan is avowedly militant about work-life steadiness; he meditates day by day, workout routines 150 to 250 minutes per week, and largely avoids answering work calls after 6 p.m. And even the CEO of a Fortune 100 firm doesn’t drink too a lot Kool Assist; he avoids any espresso after 2:00 p.m. At that time, he informed Murray and Lev-Ram, he switches over to one in all Starbucks’s “wonderful range of teas.”