Starbucks appoints Disney exec as global chief strategy officer

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Company announced that it has appointed Matthew Ryan as global chief strategy officer. Ryan was previously SVP of global brand, franchise and customer relationship management for The Walt Disney Company.



“The Starbucks Experience is built on our partners’ (employees) passion for creating meaningful moments of connection more than 70 million times every week and our company’s devotion to continuously innovating new choices and experiences that surprise and delight our customers at every interaction,” said Starbucks chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz. “Matt’s innovative approach to customer analytics, market segmentation and brand optimization will bring a new level of insight and imagination to Starbucks and our significant brand ambitions.”



Ryan will report to Schultz and serve on Starbucks senior leadership team. He will lead Starbucks long-term strategic planning process; improve the monetization of Starbucks retail, channel and emerging brands; and strengthen the company’s fast-growing customer relationship management and loyalty capabilities. Starbucks global customer insights and strategy teams will report to Ryan.



As SVP, brand, franchise and customer relationship management since 2000, Ryan has led the development of Disney’s global brand equity across the company.