Factbox-Who is the new CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol? By Reuters

(Reuters) – Starbucks (NASDAQ: ) tapped Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: ) chief Brian Niccol on Tuesday to lead the coffee giant, known for its expensive coffee, amid pressure from activist investors and declining sales in the U.S. and China.

Here are some facts about the new CEO at Starbucks.

Who is Brian Niccol?

Niccol has been CEO at Chipotle since March 2018 and took on the additional role of president since March 2020.

He was CEO of Taco Bell, a division of Yum Brands, from 2015 to early 2018 and before that held positions at Pizza Hut, another Yum banner.

Prior to his time at Yum, Niccol spent 10 years at consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (NYSE: ).

He currently serves on the board of big-box retailer Walmart (NYSE: ) and previously served on the boards of homebuilder KB Home (NYSE: ) and bicycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson (NYSE: ).

How did Niccol turn around Chipotle Mexican Grill?

During Niccol’s tenure, Chipotle’s sales have doubled to about $10 billion in fiscal 2023, while the burrito chain’s stock has tripled in value over the past five years.

He was also responsible for turning around Chipotle’s reputation after a series of food safety failures in 2018, with steps such as retraining restaurant employees on safety and wellness protocols during work hours.

Under him, the burrito and rice bowl maker has added nearly 1,000 new stores globally. The company also started using automatic avocado processors that cut guacamole preparation time by 50 percent and robotic double-sided grills to speed up cooking.

How did Wall Street react to Niccol’s appointment?

Shares of the coffee chain rose as much as 23.7 percent, while Chipotle Mexican Grill fell as much as 14 percent.

Thomas Hayes, President at Great Hill Capital:

“He (Niccol) will change the company. It will be a little bit difficult for the first quarters, but Niccol has proven what he can do at Chipotle.”

David Palmer, analyst at Evercore ISI:

“Brian is probably the only restaurant executive who has the guts to address founder Howard Schultz’s ‘promotion’.”

Andrew Charles, analyst at TD Cowen:

“Starbucks selects a Hall-of-Fame restaurant CEO, and his appointment … suggests a new era is underway. We see similarities between Chipotle’s transformation in 2018 for a premium brand and what Starbucks needs in 2024 to improve traffic.”

Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, which owns shares of both companies:

“I cheered on the Starbucks news…the stock was a colossal disappointment, as was Laxman…Brian Niccol just made magic at Chipotle…he did all the right things and really ran the company using the Chipotle ribbons, by using digitization… Niccol will fix Starbucks”.