New Delhi: Imagine managing your work life across two coasts, starting with a morning Starbucks coffee in California and wrapping up your day 1,600 km away in Seattle. Starbucks’s new CEO, Brian Niccol won’t be moving to Seattle to work at company’s headquarters. Instead, he’ll use the company jet to travel between his California home and the Seattle office up to three times a week, as outlined in his recent SEC filing.
Niccol’s employment deal includes access to a corporate jet for his daily travel. He is required to work from the Seattle office at least three days a week even with the considerable distance. This is because of the company’s hybrid work policy introduced in 2023.
Niccol, at 50 will have an annual base salary of 1.6 million dollars. On top of that, he could earn a performance-based cash bonus ranging from 3.6 million dollars to 7.2 million dollars. He also has the chance to receive up to 23 million dollars in annual equity awards.
However, this isn’t the first time Niccol has set up a distinctive commuting arrangement. While he was CEO at Chipotle in 2028, he negotiated a similar deal. At that time, Chipotle was based in Colorado but it moved its headquarters to California shortly after Niccol took on the role.
According to CNBC, a Starbucks spokesperson stated “Brian’s primary office and a majority of his time will be spent in our Seattle Support Center or out visiting partners and customers in our stores, roasteries, roasting facilities and offices around the world. His schedule will exceed the hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations we have for all partners.”
Top executives often negotiate flexible work arrangements because of their bargaining power. For instance, Hillary Super, CEO of Rihanna’s lingerie brand Fenty x Savage managed to work from New York City instead of moving to Victoria’s Secret’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.