Starbucks has appointed Indian-origin technology leader Anand Varadarajan as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, strengthening its global leadership team with a seasoned executive known for building large-scale, customer-centric technology platforms. Varadarajan, a nearly two-decade veteran of Amazon, will join Starbucks’ Executive Leadership Team on January 19, 2026, reporting directly to CEO Brian Niccol. He succeeds Deb Hall Lefevre, who retired from the role in September.
The appointment underscores Starbucks’ continued focus on technology as a core driver of growth, operational efficiency, and customer experience. As CTO, Varadarajan will be responsible for shaping the company’s global technology strategy, overseeing digital platforms, enterprise systems, and innovation initiatives that support Starbucks’ expanding footprint and evolving consumer engagement models.
Varadarajan brings close to 19 years of experience from Amazon, where he played a pivotal role in designing, scaling, and operating complex technology ecosystems across multiple business lines. Most recently, he led technology and supply chain systems for Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores business, a role that required integrating digital platforms with highly efficient physical operations. His background spans cloud-scale systems, retail technology, logistics, and data-driven decision-making, all of which are increasingly critical to Starbucks’ omnichannel strategy.
Starbucks highlighted Varadarajan’s expertise in building secure, scalable, and resilient technology platforms that enable operational excellence while keeping the customer at the center. As the company continues to invest heavily in digital ordering, loyalty programmes, in-store technology, and supply chain modernization, leadership with deep experience in managing complexity at scale is expected to be a key differentiator.
The company believes Varadarajan’s appointment will help accelerate its technology roadmap and strengthen its global digital capabilities, particularly as Starbucks balances rapid international expansion with evolving consumer expectations. His experience in aligning technology with business outcomes is also expected to support innovation across store operations, partner tools, and customer-facing platforms.
With this leadership transition, Starbucks signals its intent to deepen the strategic role of technology across the organisation. Varadarajan’s arrival marks a new phase in the company’s digital journey, as it looks to leverage advanced technology systems to enhance efficiency, resilience, and personalized customer experiences across markets worldwide.
