Starbucks Hires First Chief Technology Officer
October 06 2015 - 5:10PM
Dow Jones News
Starbucks Corp. is tapping a Silicon Valley veteran to be its
first chief technology officer as the coffee giant amps up its push
into digital ordering.
The Seattle-based company on Tuesday said it had hired former
Adobe Systems Inc. executive Gerri Martin-Flickinger to lead its
technology team. It is the second major hire of a technology
executive at Starbucks. The company in January hired Kevin Johnson,
former Juniper Networks Inc. CEO, to be its president and chief
operating officer.
Technology is playing an increasingly important role in
Starbucks' growth strategy as it seeks new ways to boost sales. In
the U.S. 20% of transactions now are made using mobile devices, up
from 9% two years ago. Starbucks in recent weeks rolled out
nationwide a new mobile app, which allows customers to order and
pay for food and drinks before arriving at a Starbucks to pick them
up.
Chief Executive Howard Schultz last year announced he was
expanding his role to be more involved in the company's digital
retailing initiatives. Since then, Starbucks has struck deals with
tech companies in an effort to attract more customers.
In July it teamed up with ride-sharing service Lyft Inc. in a
deal that allows riders and drivers who use Lyft's mobile app to
earn Starbucks loyalty "stars," which can be r edeemed for food and
drinks at Starbucks outlets. Before that, Starbucks struck a
similar deal with music-streaming service Spotify, whose
subscribers can earn Starbucks stars.
Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 06, 2015 16:55 ET (20:55 GMT)
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