Starbucks’ North American president leaving after 17 years as company reorganizes leadership

The president of Starbucks North America, Rosann Williams, is set to be replaced by the company’s Asia Pacific division head. She is leaving the coffee chain after 17 years of service.

As per CNBC, her departure is part of Starbucks’ leadership shake-up, and the company announced about this change late last week. This change is said to be the latest shift under the leadership of Howard Schultz, the interim chief executive officer who returned in April to take over the job after Kevin Johnson stepped down from the post.

Schultz is expected to stay as interim CEO at Starbucks until the end of this year. The company would have already named his successor for long-term leadership. It was mentioned that Williams has also been offered another position in the company, but she rejected the offer.

“As we embark on the next chapter, we have made a difficult, but necessary change to our North America business, a change that creates new leadership for a new era at Starbucks,” part of the memo that John Culver, the coffee chain’s chief operating officer, sent to employees and viewed by CNBC. “The decision was not taken lightly and was one preceded by a discussion about the next opportunity for Rossann within the company, which she declined.”

The outgoing North American head of Starbucks started working for the company in 2004, and she worked at Toys ’R Us and Blockbuster before joining the coffee chain. This year, as more than 150 Starbucks outlets have voted to unionize, Willams has been one of the public faces of the firm’s efforts to restrain barista’s unionization efforts.

The New York Times reported that the outgoing Starbucks executive is set to be replaced by Sara Trilling, currently serving as Asia Pacific business head. She will take over as the new president of the North American unit starting Tuesday, June 21.

Trilling has also been part of Starbucks for a long time and much longer than Williams. She has been with the company for two decades already. She started out in the creative studio division that handles retail store designs and worked her way up to the executive level from there.

Finally, while the leadership is being transferred, Williams will be helping TRilling with the transition throughout this month. Cliff Burrows, the president of the Starbucks Americas unit, will also be helping her in an advisory role.