At the Fortune Global 500 Summit, Starbucks CEO Nashan shared his experience of working in stores across the United States, as well as in stores in Europe, Mexico, China and Japan before he took the job six months ago.
"It was a great experience, getting to know how the store operates, having conversations with partners, and most importantly, making connections between people."
Even just driving by Starbucks and picking up your order after you've ordered it is a bonding moment, Nashan points out. "That's what we do, to connect with people, and we reimagine how human connection is built and then we put it into practice."
Mr. Nashan, who grew up in India, came to the United States as an immigrant with two suitcases and more than $7,000. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School, he launched his career. He believes that as a leader, the more you learn, you should know that there is more to learn. But at the same time, it is also more important to determine what knowledge to keep and what knowledge to discard, lest curiosity put too much in the mind.
Nashan was the only survivor of three children. He stressed that he really enjoys having a wide range of relationships, building relationships with different people and learning together.
He says he has traveled to many different parts of the world and seen different business models. Part of Nashham's leadership is understanding that being a CEO of Pepsi in Latin America is very different from being a CEO in Japan, China, or Europe.
Nashan said Starbucks has been in China for 24 years. Starbucks grows coffee beans in Yunnan and has built a large advanced roasting plant to roast coffee beans for its Chinese stores and provide fresh, high-quality coffee.
He said that the Chinese business accounts for 10% of Starbucks' global business, and is still growing rapidly every day, faster than the United States, and Starbucks faces much more opportunities in China than in the United States.
In China, we open a store every eight minutes. And the truth is, we're building a bridge, connecting people with coffee, with the Starbucks brand. Because at the end of the day, we're a consumer goods company, and we're building a coffee bridge.