Starbucks Just Dropped Its Global CMO Role. Here’s Why

Starbucks is the latest brand to shelve the global chief marketer role.

Instead, it has unveiled a new structure that will see regional chief executive officers (CEOs) take responsibility for the business in each market, working alongside regional marketers.

The coffee chain has promoted current evp, chief marketing offer (CMO), Brady Brewer — who joined with a global remit in 2020 — to CEO for its international business.

In a statement, the company said Brewer would work alongside veteran Starbucks exec Michael Conway, who has taken on the newly created position of CEO for North America, to reinvent the business internally.

The pair will work to “elevate” the Starbucks brand, which has faced headwinds in recent months including a boycott in the U.S. and fierce competition in China.

Though the 52-year-old chain said it will not replace the “global chief marketing position,” it is in the market for what it described as a “global brand creative leader.”

Starbucks’ move to ditch the global CMO position comes as many brands are rethinking where the sometimes-nebulous role sits within their business, changing the title to reflect a broader range of responsibilities, hiring “fractional” CMOs in consulting-style positions and, in some cases, cutting it entirely.

Brewer and Conway will report to Starbucks’ global CEO, Laxman Narasimhan. Within this new structure, each geographic CEO will have regional marketing support. The company retains some regional CMOs, including Kyndra Russel who is responsible for North America.

The restructure forms part of Starbucks’ “Triple Shot with Two Pumps” transformation plan, which is dedicated to three things: strengthening the Starbucks brand; upgrading its digital offering; and helping the chain become “a truly” global business.

As per the company’s lexicon, this three-pronged approach will be complimented with “two pumps,” or two further focuses — unlocking efficiency and reinvigorating its internal culture.

Narasimhan claimed the brand was making “strong progress” against the plan.

“To further accelerate [this], consistent with our ambitions, we are realigning the organization to balance clear geographical focus with investing in functional capabilities to scale around the world, generating productivity and reinvigorating our [employee] culture,” he said.

What now for Starbucks?

Post-pandemic, America’s largest roaster has been looking to drive relevance by positioning itself as somewhere where people can find human connection during their coffee runs. This has helped drive sales, with revenue rising 8% to a record $9.43 billion in the final three months of 2023.

However, it is operating in a tough market.

In Jan 2024, the business cut its yearly sales forecasts and missed market expectations amid U.S. and Middle East boycotts, following a pro-Palestine tweet from the union that prompted calls for a boycott on the right and the left.

Narasimhan told investors these boycotts had a “significant impact on traffic and sales”.

Starbucks has also seen negative headlines over how it’s handling relations with workers attempting to unionize, and has seen consumer spending weaken in China (one of its key markets), putting its share price on the back foot.

The Seattle-founded business will be hoping an operational shakedown can help address some of these issues.

“As we look to the future, the opportunity we have is truly limitless,” said Narasimhan. “Throughout our history, we have continued to reinvent not who we are or what we stand for, but what we do and how we connect with our customers and deliver our long-term aspirations. Because of our partners, and with our strategic plan and world class-leadership team, the best days of Starbucks are ahead of us.” 

Change brewing for the CMO role

According to data from recruitment firm Spencer Stuart, among the top marketers at Fortune 500 companies, just 36% have the conventional chief marketing officer title. Johnson & Johnson, AB InBev U.S. and Uber are among those to have dropped the CMO position entirely in recent years.

Elsewhere, CMOs like Brewer are moving up the ranks. Christine Hsu Evans, one of ADWEEK’s Marketing Vanguard Award honorees, spent 21 months as CMO of Headspace before being promoted to president last summer; longtime Mars Petcare CMO Leonid Sudakov was recently named president for growth, digital and platforms; and in 2023, Molson Coors elevated Michelle St. Jacques to the new role of chief commercial officer, overseeing sales, marketing, innovation and digital.

As part of its reshuffle, Starbucks has also hired a new chief merchant and product officer, former Saputo exec Lyne Castonguay.