Unstoppable trend: Anand Mahindra reacts as Starbucks names Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan as new CEO
PremiumWhat was initially a trickle of water has turned into a Tsunami, Anand Mahindra on Indian origin CEOs
Starbucks on Sunday announced that it has tapped Laxman Narasimhan as its next CEO. This adds another name to the string of Indian-origin CEOs in international boardrooms that includes people like Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, Parag Agrawal, Leena Nair and others. Applauding it as an unstoppable trend, elated Anand Mahindra commented that ‘What was initially a trickle of water has turned into a Tsunami.’
Narasimhan, 55, will join the coffee giant on 1st October and will take over fully on 1st April. For the initial 6 months, he’ll continue to learn about the company.
Taking note of the event, Mahindra tweeted, What was initially a trickle of water has turned into a Tsunami. The appointment of Indian-origin CEOs at the world’s most iconic companies is now an unstoppable trend. International boardrooms consider them to be almost ‘safe’ leadership bets.
Since being shared a few hours ago, his post has accumulated over 1,600 likes and counting. The share has also accumulated various comments.
Narasimhan on 30 September stepped down as the chief executive officer of Reckitt Benckiser Group after three years. A huge blow for the company. Narasimhan's role at the Reckitt Benckiser Group has been far-reaching.
Narasimhan inherited a mess from predecessor Rakesh Kapoor, under whom Reckitt had acquired Mead Johnson for $17 billion in 2017. That stretched the company thin, leaving it vulnerable to a series of blunders, including a cyberattack. Narasimhan quietly set about restructuring Reckitt, most notably selling off its Chinese infant formula business for $2.2 billion.
His efforts were beginning to pay off when his departure was announced. Reckitt was one of the few consumer-goods companies in the most recent earnings season to upgrade its outlook for both sales growth and profitability.
Before Reckitt, he was an executive at global beverage titan PepsiCo Inc., which is a Starbucks partner for ready-to-drink products, and worked at consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
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