Anand Varadarajan, an Indian-origin technology executive and nearly two-decade Amazon veteran, has been appointed as the new Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Starbucks. He will assume the role on January 19th, joining the company's Executive Leadership Team and reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Niccol. Varadarajan succeeds Deb Hall Lefevre, who retired in September 2025. Ningyu Chen served as interim CTO after Lefevre's departure.
Varadarajan's appointment is expected to accelerate Starbucks' technology initiatives and strengthen its digital capabilities across its global business. Niccol is pushing for a tech revamp across stores to boost efficiency. Starbucks needs to keep improving its marketing, data analytics, and AI tools or risk losing consumer interest and market share.
Prior to joining Starbucks, Varadarajan spent almost 19 years at Amazon, building large-scale, customer-focused technology platforms. Most recently, he oversaw the technology and supply chain for Amazon's Worldwide Grocery Stores business, including Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh. His responsibilities included leading global product, technology, and supply chain teams, guiding executive decision-making, and mentoring senior leadership. Before Amazon, Varadarajan held software engineering roles at Oracle and worked with several startups. He began his career in June 1998 at Oracle, contributing to Oracle Advanced Replication for mobile and distributed databases. From 1999 to 2001, he was a senior software engineer at Viquity Inc., designing B2B supply chain protocols. He also worked at Motorola and Openwave.
Varadarajan is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. He also holds a master's degree in civil engineering from Purdue University and a master's degree in computer science from the University of Washington.
Starbucks stated that Varadarajan brings deep experience in developing secure, reliable systems and scaling technology to support operational excellence, while keeping customers at the center. The company expects him to further invest in digital tools and backend systems designed to streamline workflows, support staff, and enhance the in-store experience.
According to Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, Varadarajan knows how to create reliable and secure systems, drive operational excellence, and scale solutions that keep customers at the center. Niccol also praised Varadarajan for caring deeply about supporting and developing the people behind the scenes that build and enable the technology.
Outside of work, Varadarajan is an avid runner aiming to complete all seven World Marathon Majors and a coffee enthusiast who starts most days with a tall latte.
