Starbucks has named Indian-origin technology leader Anand Varadarajan as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, strengthening its leadership bench as the coffee major sharpens its focus on digital transformation and technology-led growth. Varadarajan will assume the role on January 19 and become part of Starbucks’ Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol.
The appointment brings to Starbucks a senior technologist with nearly 19 years of experience at Amazon, where he played a central role in building and scaling large, customer-centric technology platforms. In his most recent position, Varadarajan oversaw technology and supply chain systems for Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores business, a portfolio that demands high reliability, speed, and integration across physical and digital retail environments.
Starbucks said Varadarajan’s background in designing secure and scalable systems aligns closely with the company’s ambitions to modernise its global operations, improve store-level efficiency, and deepen digital engagement with customers. Technology continues to be a critical growth lever for the company, supporting mobile ordering, loyalty platforms, personalised marketing, and supply chain optimisation across thousands of stores worldwide.
Before joining Amazon, Varadarajan worked as a software engineer at Oracle and gained early entrepreneurial exposure through roles at several startups. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University, along with a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Washington.
Varadarajan succeeds Deb Hall Lefevre, who retired in September after a long tenure with Starbucks. The leadership transition comes at a time when the global coffee chain is investing heavily in technology to enhance customer experience, improve operational resilience, and support long-term growth in both mature and emerging markets.
Starbucks indicated that Varadarajan’s appointment is expected to accelerate its technology roadmap globally, bringing a sharper focus on execution at scale while keeping customer experience at the core of its digital strategy.
