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Brian Niccol

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks

Search every verified Brian Niccol interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Brian Niccol, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks, discussed the company’s recent progress and priorities in two interviews. In a September 2026 appearance on CNBC’s "Squawk Box," he said the company’s business has "made the turn" and that "the shine is back on Starbucks," citing ongoing efforts to renovate coffeehouses and implement digital menu boards. He noted that the company had touched over a thousand locations in a nine-month improvement program and planned to complete thousands more in the next fiscal year, while also emphasizing continued work on service standards. In an October 2026 podcast interview, Niccol spoke about the importance of human connection in an increasingly automated world, stating that "as the world gets more automated and digitized, I think these human moments are going to become more and more scarce and more and more important." He also described Starbucks’ culture of partnership, including its Bean Stock equity program, and said the company cannot be run successfully "from a spreadsheet," emphasizing the need to be present in coffeehouses to understand customers and employees.

Recent appearances

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“You know, so the good news is for us as the business continues to recover, the balance sheet gets stronger and stronger, it gives us terrific opportunities to invest in growth. Obviously, some of that growth is going to be the store remodels and then obviously building new stores and then we'll look around to figure out what is the right next growth vehicle for us. Buybacks may be part of it. Obviously, we've got a d”

“Yeah, look, I think you would expect us to be looking with a critical eye towards any product that we use and whether or not we're getting the best cost proposition and also are we getting the best outcomes from that proposition. And that's basically what we're doing here is we've got some great partners but at the same token we need to make sure that we are getting the best output for the best pricing and I think yo”

“It's going to have to be reasonable and it's going to have to reflect the fact that we are the leader in benefits, wages for people that work 20 hours or more in our company. Because it has to be sustainable so that all 400,000 partners and all 250,000 partners in the United States can continue to have a great experience, a great career, and, you know, frankly, get great development and growth personally and professi”

“I think if we can consistently deliver a comp that is 3% or better, you know, revenue growth that is you know, 5% or better and then earnings growth that outpaces that, that would be world-class and we're a world-class company and we will deliver I think world-class results as we get going on this turnaround.”

“We believe with our partner Boyu, that could be 15, 20,000 coffee houses. And they are the great they are a great partner for growth. And part of the reason why we decided to do this is for our next chapter of growth, we just believe we needed a local partner to help us kind of figure out how we can grow faster.”

“We've invested over I think it's $500 million close to $600 million into the labor experience and you know, the best way for you to then start driving earnings is we got to get the top line going. We've done that and then obviously we'll work on the middle of the P&L as well on the cost side of things which we've got clear line of sight on how over the next 2 years we'll probably be able to save close to $2 billion w”

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