Sweetgreen COO Rossann Williams has departed from the fast-casual chain, effective immediately, the company said Thursday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The exit was described as mutually agreed upon, though no reason was given for her departure. She transitioned to a consulting role, and will continue to advise the company through June 1.
Williams has been with Sweetgreen for a little over a year, joining the Los Angeles-based chain in February 2024. Before joining Sweetgreen, she spent more than 18 years at Starbucks, where she rose to the level of executive vice president and president of North America Retail, overseeing about 16,000 stores.
At Starbucks, she had become one of the most visible executives in the early unionization effort. She left during the leadership upheaval at the coffeehouse chain, when former CEO Kevin Johnson exited and former CEO Howard Schultz stepped back in as interim at the time.
Williams' departure comes just after Sweetgreen launched new air-fried Ripple Fries, as well as a new loyalty program that rolled out earlier this month. After opening 25 restaurants last year, the chain is picking up the pace on growth with an estimated 40 net new restaurants expected to open in 2025.
Of those, 20 will be the Infinite Kitchen format, with an automated makeline, which Sweetgreen executives say are showing better-than-expected results. Sweetgreen’s same-store sales were up 6% in fiscal 2024, including a 2% increase in traffic and mix.
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