Dive Brief:
- Starbucks CFO Cathy Smith is transferring her principal accounting officer role to Val Bauduin, according to a Friday securities filing. He will take it on while continuing to serve as the coffee giant’s SVP of corporate finance and development, and will continue to report to Smith.
- Bauduin was briefly appointed interim CFO in March 2025, during the transition period between outgoing CFO Rachel Ruggeri’s departure effective March 7 and Smith’s anticipated March 24 start date, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission at that time. During that time he also temporarily held the principal financial and principal accounting officer roles.
- There were no changes to Bauduin’s compensation as a result of his added title, according to Starbucks’ filing last week.
Dive Insight:
The move comes as the Seattle, Washington-based coffee chain is in the midst of its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan under CEO Brian Niccol.
Amid the range of pivots that it has undertaken to accelerate its turnaround including remodels and customizable caffeine levels, Starbucks’ same store sales in North America rose 7.1% in Q2 despite consumer uncertainty related to rising costs, CFO Dive sister publication Restaurant Dive reported in April.
“Encouragingly, Starbucks drove US spending growth across all income and age cohorts, which points to consumers' appetite for on-trend innovation, even against a hazy macro backdrop. We think the firm's revamped tiered loyalty program should continue to engage consumers and entice spending,” Morningstar equity analyst Ari Felhandler wrote in an April note. At the same time, he noted that North America’s operating margin slipped 170 basis points to 9.9% as inflation and labor investments pressured profits.
Smith joined Starbucks last year from Nordstrom, where she also served as CFO, CFO Dive previously reported. In addition to taking the top finance reins, when Smith arrived she was also designated Starbucks’ principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. She will retain the principal financial officer role, according to Friday’s filing.
Bauduin, 50, worked for Marriott International for nearly a decade before joining Starbucks, holding a range of roles including controller and chief accounting officer and CFO of consumer operations, technology and emerging business, according to his LinkedIn profile. From about 1997 to 2014, he worked for the Big Four firm Deloitte, rising from a staff accountant role to become a partner and U.S. hospitality leader.
Starbucks has split the top accounting position from the CFO role before. In 2022 then CFO Ruggeri took on the principal accounting officer role after Jill Walker transitioned from her role as chief accounting officer just before taking an unpaid sabbatical leave, according to a Feb. 10, 2022 SEC filing.
A company spokesperson declined to comment beyond the filings.
