Starbucks Corporation announced the appointment of Cathy R. Smith as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective on a date to be determined. Smith joins Starbucks from Nordstrom, where she served as CFO and treasurer. She has also held CFO positions at Bright Health Group, Target Corporation, Express Scripts, Walmart International, GameStop, Centex, Kennametal, Textron, and Raytheon.

Smith's compensation package includes a $925,000 annual base salary, an annual cash incentive bonus at a target of 125% of her base salary, and a $5 million signing bonus. She will also receive a replacement equity grant valued at $6.4 million and a fiscal year 2025 annual equity award of $4.5 million, both comprising 60% performance-based and 40% time-based restricted stock units.

Simultaneously, Starbucks announced that Rachel Ruggeri will step down as CFO. Her departure qualifies under the "without cause" provisions of the company’s Executive Severance and Change in Control Plan.