Codie SanchezFounder @ Contrarian Thinking

How Starbucks Lost Billions

11 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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Starbucks hired a McKinsey consultant as CEO who had never run a company. In 17 months, the stock fell $40 billion. When they replaced him with Brian Niccol, who grew Chipotle from $7 billion to $70 billion, the stock jumped $20 billion in a day.

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Number one mistake in business. Never confuse someone who can explain a business with someone who can run one. Starbucks fired their CEO after 17 months. The company was worth $114 billion when he started, $74 billion when he left. That's a $40 billion faceplant in under 2 years. Here's why. He spent 22 years at McKinsey telling other people how to run businesses, but he hadn't actually ran a business himself. There's an entire chapter in Own or Be Owned called People. If you hire people based on resumes instead of results, It's going to cost you either hundreds of thousands or millions to figure it out compared to their billions. Starbucks finally corrected it. They brought in their right people. Brian Niccol, the guy who took Chipotle from $7 billion to $70 billion. The day they announced him, the stock jumped $20 billion in a single day. Before you hire anyone or take advice from anyone, ask one question: Have they actually done what they're telling you to do?