Starbucks plans to pay incoming CEO Brian Niccol $10 million in cash and $75 million in equity awards when he joins the company from Chipotle. Niccol will be paid a base salary of $1.6 million annually, with the opportunity to earn up to $7.2 million more in cash. As CEO, Niccol will have to turn around the coffee chain’s slumping business. Brian Niccol, CEO of Chipotle Anjali Sundaram | CNBC
Starbucks offered incoming CEO and Chair Brian Niccol a pay bump and hefty one-time awards to lure him from his prior role as chief executive at Chipotle Mexican Grill.
Niccol officially takes the reins at the embattled coffee chain on Sept. 9. As CEO, he’ll be tasked with turning around the company’s slumping sales, improving customers’ experience inside stores and figuring out what to do with its struggling China business. It’s a big undertaking — for which he will be well compensated.
Starbucks disclosed Niccol’s incoming pay plan in a filing on Wednesday. The majority of his compensation package is made up of equity that vests