Brian Niccol

Brian Niccol inspires a lot of confidence. So much, in fact, that when Starbucks announced the former Chipotle chief would become the coffee company’s new CEO in August of this year, Starbucks shares jumped 20%. While at Chipotle, Niccol doubled the company’s annual revenue to nearly $10 billion. He joins Starbucks as the company struggles with lower demand from inflation-weary customers and ongoing contract negotiations with unionized employees. Niccol started at Starbucks in September, but he has already begun making big decisions, like cutting back on discounts and streamlining the menu.