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The executive who tripled Chipotle's stock price and pioneered Chipotlanes after a food-safety crisis is now tasked with reversing declining same-store sales at Starbucks — making Niccol the most scrutinized turnaround artist in American restaurants.
Brian Niccol is the chairman and CEO of Starbucks, recruited in 2024 from Chipotle Mexican Grill, where he led one of the most-discussed turnarounds in restaurant history.
At Chipotle, he tripled the stock price and introduced digital ordering and Chipotlanes drive-throughs. Before Chipotle, Niccol served as CEO of Taco Bell, where he led brand and menu reinvention. His Starbucks appointment sent the company's stock sharply higher.
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