Starbucks has announced the appointment of Anand Varadarajan as its new executive vice president and chief technology officer (CTO).

Varadarajan joins the coffee chain from retail giant Amazon where he worked for almost 19 years leading technology and supply chain for the company’s worldwide grocery stores business.

He has also held software engineering roles at Oracle and worked for technology firm Motorola.

Varadarajan replaces Deb Hall Lefevre, who left the company in June.

Ningyu Chen took on the role temporarily while the company sought a permanent successor to the role.

Varadarajan will start his new role in January.

He will report directly to chief executive Brian Niccol.

“He knows how to create systems that are reliable and secure, drive operational excellence and scale solutions that keep customers at the centre,” Niccol said. “Just as important, he cares deeply about supporting and developing the people behind the scenes that build and enable the technology we use.”

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