The tech guru personally employed by Starbucks founder Schultz has left.
In response to a pre – daybreak report on September 27 by Yiou, Reuters reported late on the twenty sixth that an inner letter written by Starbucks’ new Chief Monetary Officer, Cathy Smith, revealed that Starbucks Chief Expertise Officer Deb Corridor Lefevre has introduced her resignation, and Ningyu Chen has been appointed because the interim Chief Expertise Officer. Ningyu Chen beforehand served because the Senior Vice President of International Expertise Expertise at Starbucks.
The 36 – 12 months cross – business “tech legend” involves an finish
Deb Corridor Lefevre graduated from Southern Illinois College in the US, majoring in Pc Info Programs.
This government with over 30 years of cross – business expertise administration expertise has related the digital transformation processes of giants akin to Motorola, McDonald’s, and Circle Okay by way of her profession trajectory.
Deb Corridor Lefevre
In 1989, Lefevre joined Motorola. Throughout her 12 – 12 months tenure at Motorola, she held varied data expertise and e – commerce positions, laying the inspiration for her expertise management.
In 2001, Lefevre switched to the meals service business and joined McDonald’s. She held a number of data expertise positions at McDonald’s, together with Chief Info Officer of the US division and Company Vice President, answerable for international enterprise options and enterprise transformation. After 15 years at McDonald’s, she was answerable for the digital transformation of roughly 14,000 eating places in North America. Because of her efforts, McDonald’s launched its first app and launched buyer self – ordering kiosks and digital menu boards.
In 2017, after leaving McDonald’s, she turned the primary international CTO of Canadian retail big Couche – Tard. Circle Okay (OK Comfort Shops) is the core international comfort retailer chain model below Couche – Tard, with operations in 31 international locations and areas. As of 2025, it operates roughly 17,000 shops globally.
At Couche – Tard, she was answerable for main the expertise technique for 15,500 shops and 125,000 staff. By means of knowledge – pushed initiatives (analyzing the habits of 9 million prospects per day on common) and system standardization, she reconstructed the comfort retailer operations and promoted the ahead – wanting structure of AI and robotics applied sciences. This achievement earned Lefevre the business analysis of being a “prime – notch expertise chief with a world perspective”.
Lefevre joined Starbucks in Might 2022 as Government Vice President and Chief Expertise Officer. She was one of many executives personally recruited by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz when he returned. She changed interim CTO Hans Melotte. Lefevre was the important thing determine in selling the mixing of Starbucks’ “expertise + espresso” mission.
Throughout her tenure at Starbucks, Deb Corridor Lefevre led a number of technological improvements, together with drive – by way of providers, on-line ordering, fee reforms, AI stock administration, worker digital assistants, and the restructuring of the expertise workforce. In 2024, she gained the CIO ORBIE Management Award for these achievements, turning into a benchmark determine within the retail expertise area.
Lefevre as soon as emphasised in an interview that “Digital expertise has reshaped existence, and the essence of retail expertise is to make operations easier and experiences hotter.”
This idea has run by way of her profession: establishing a “retailer – first” expertise mindset at McDonald’s, understanding customers by way of knowledge at Circle Okay, and specializing in “accomplice empowerment” and “steady beverage high quality” at Starbucks.
Starbucks in turmoil,
How you can return to its roots?
Lefevre’s departure comes at a time when Starbucks is within the deepening section of its “Again to Starbucks” technique.
The “Again to Starbucks” technique emphasizes bettering the in – retailer expertise, optimizing operational effectivity, utilizing expertise to empower baristas to work together with prospects, and enhancing digital and automation capabilities. Starbucks’ senior administration said that these expertise instructions and priorities will proceed to be carried out, whatever the change within the CTO place.
Concerning Lefevre’s departure this time, there are rumors that she is contemplating “retirement” as a part of her private profession planning. Sources mentioned that Lefevre will keep till the top of the 12 months to help with the handover. Lefevre didn’t reply to media inquiries.
Business insiders advised Yiou that Lefevre’s departure could also be associated to the modifications and changes below Starbucks’ strategic shift.
In June 2025, Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol introduced a collection of main organizational modifications – the operations of the Expertise division might be “merged into / reported to” the Finance division.
As a part of the adjustment, Lefevre was required to report back to newly – joined Chief Monetary Officer Cathy Smith (who joined in March 2025). Brian Niccol believes that this transfer can “strengthen the synergy between expertise and finance and speed up the implementation of the Again to Starbucks plan.”
This adjustment could have made Lefevre’s function, authority boundaries, and useful resource allocation totally different from what she initially anticipated or was used to. This can be one of many components for her to contemplate resigning.
In June 25, 2025, Starbucks elected Dambisa Moyo and Marissa Mayer to hitch its board of administrators. International economist Moyo was as soon as the co – head of Versaca Investments, a household workplace centered on international development investments. Moyo has additionally served as an government and director at firms akin to Goldman Sachs, Chevron, Barclays Financial institution, and 3M.
Mayer is the CEO and founding father of Sunshine AI, a tech startup that makes use of synthetic intelligence to automate every day duties. She has served because the CEO, President, and board director of Yahoo. Earlier than becoming a member of Yahoo, she labored at Google for 13 years. Mayer is at present a board member of Walmart, AT&T, and Hilton Resorts.
Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol clearly said that Dambisa and Marissa’s becoming a member of the board is essential for Starbucks’ future. They carry in in depth expertise, together with in expertise, transformation, and globalization.
The Again to Starbucks technique is a robust name to return to the model’s strengths, whereas embracing digital instruments that can outline the following – era buyer and accomplice expertise.
Starbucks Chairman Brian Niccol has at all times emphasised that expertise is a core funding space for Starbucks. Nonetheless, at present Starbucks is in a troubled interval, dealing with a collection of issues akin to international layoffs, vital value – chopping, senior administration restructuring, declining efficiency, elevated working stress, falling inventory costs, and the sale of Starbucks China.
These pressures could make Starbucks wish to pace up the tempo of change, and on the similar time, could improve the work stress on the CTO. The hole between Starbucks’ funding in expertise and the anticipated returns may be one of many speculations for Lefevre’s departure.
Folks aware of the matter revealed that Starbucks’ layoff of 1,100 staff in February this 12 months hit the IT workforce significantly laborious. Sources mentioned that Starbucks is outsourcing increasingly IT work to service supplier groups in India.
Some additionally imagine that with the fast unfold of rising applied sciences akin to giant fashions and Brokers, Starbucks may have a “new” expertise chief to regroup and lead the corporate out of the “shadow”.
Lefevre’s departure leaves behind Starbucks’ unfinished digital mission, and Starbucks’ digital transformation has entered a brand new “unsure section”.
This text is from the WeChat official account “Yiou Network” (ID: i – yiou), writer: Liu Huan, revealed by 36Kr with authorization.
