Brian Niccol, named the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks on Aug. 13, 2024, is shown during an interview on June 9, 2015, in New York. Yet its freshly minted chief executive officer isn’t living in the same city or even state as its headquarters — an emerging trend of top leaders living a plane ride away at a time when many employees are seeing less flexibility than before.
Both executives have agreed to commute frequently for their role. Starbucks will allow Niccol to use its corporate plane, and Victoria’s Secret will cover Super’s travel expenses. Niccol, who moved Chipotle’s headquarters from Denver, isn’t following precedent at Starbucks. The coffee chain’s previous CEO, Laxman Narasimhan, relocated to Seattle from the UK. Niccol will spend the majority of his time at the Seattle headquarters, according to a Starbucks spokesperson.
At Victoria’s Secret, Super isn’t the first or only senior executive at her company to be based outside of Ohio. The company’s brand president and head of design both live in New York.