Tata Starbucks on Wednesday said that it was appointing Sushant Dash, president, packaged beverages at Tata Consumer Products, as the coffee chain’s new chief executive officer (CEO) in India. The appointment would be effective May 1.
The development follows the decision of incumbent Navin Gurnaney to step down from his position. Dash will take over as Tata Starbucks' CEO-designate from April 1.
Dash will be the fourth CEO to manage the chain’s India business since it first launched operations in October 2012 in a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Consumer Products. The chain currently operates over 215 stores across 17 cities.
Dash was part of the core team that opened the first Tata Starbucks store in the country and was directly responsible for the strategy and marketing of the Starbucks brand, the company said in a statement.