Just days after Starbucks announced that it is tapping Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol as the coffee chain’s new CEO, Starbucks is setting the record straight on his commuting expectations.
Starbucks will not require Niccol to work in the company’s office in Seattle when he starts his new job in September. Instead, he’ll have a remote office setup in Newport Beach, California, where Chipotle’s headquarters and Niccols are currently located.
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The two cities are approximately 1,000 miles away from each other.
Bloomberg reported that the flexibility of remote work was a big part of the draw when poaching Niccol.
Niccol will have an office in Starbucks’ Seattle HQ for visits, and the company will pay for housing costs for three months while Niccol finds secondary housing in Seattle. Should he decide to move out of California and to Seattle full-time, Starbucks will reimburse him for relocation expenses.
Starbucks also disclosed Niccol’s lucrative pay package in a filing on Wednesday, which states that he will receive a $10 million signing bonus and $75 million Starbucks stock. His base salary annually will be $1.6 million with the opportunity to earn both $23 million in share-based bonuses each year and an additional $3.6 million cash bonus.
Should everything vest in Niccol’s favor, he could earn over $113 million in his first year alone.
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“I am excited to join Starbucks and grateful for the opportunity to help steward this incredible company, alongside hundreds of thousands of devoted partners,” Niccol said in a Starbucks investor release on Tuesday. “As I embark upon this journey, I am energized by the tremendous potential to drive growth and further enhance the Starbucks experience for our customers and partners, while staying true to our mission and values.”
Niccol made an estimated $22.5 million at Chipotle in 2023.