Starbucks on Friday named Tressie Lieberman its new global chief brand officer, poaching Yahoo’s CMO in Brian Niccol’s first major hire with the coffee shop giant.
Lieberman is no stranger to restaurants and has worked with Niccol before. Before she was hired at Yahoo last year, she had been VP of digital marketing and off-premise with Chipotle Mexican Grill, where Niccol had been CEO.
She had extensive experience at restaurants before then, including more than two years with Snap Kitchen and a decade with Yum Brands.
Lieberman will start her new position on Nov. 4. She will oversee marketing, product, digital, creative and data analytics and insights.
The move also comes just more than a month after Niccol took over as Starbucks CEO. The former Chipotle and Taco Bell CEO has identified marketing as a key area for improvement and the company said last month that it would hire a new chief brand officer.
“Starbucks is a brand people love,” Niccol said in a statement. “It’s time to tell our story again and reintroduce Starbucks to the world. Tressie is the perfect person to help us do that.”
Niccol said Lieberman “has a proven track record of building strong brands, developing compelling products, creating great customer experiences and leading breakthrough marketing. I’m excited that she will bring these talents to Starbucks.”
Lieberman will oversee marketing for a brand that has struggled with sluggish sales all year, starting in mid-November. Same-store sales turned south in mid-November and stayed there throughout 2024. The result cost CEO Laxman Narasimhan his job and led Starbucks to hire Niccol away from Chipotle.
The chain’s sales challenges have come mostly from occasional customers.
Niccol has moved quickly to make changes over the past five weeks, sending an open letter detailing his plans for the U.S. market. The company has cut back on discounts. And it has made some organizational changes, including the elimination of the North America CEO position created under Narasimhan.
Starbucks on Friday made more organizational moves. The company plans to organize teams under Sara Trilling, the chain’s North America president, “to create clear accountability for the look and feel of our stores.”
Dawn Clark will lead concepts and store design teams. Angele Robinson-Gaylord will lead store development. Both will report to Trillling.
Starbucks also said that Dominic Carr will be chief communications and corporate affairs officer and will report to Niccol. AJ Jones II will continue to lead the company’s corporate affairs team and will report to Carr.
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