DAVE ALEXANDER CENTER FOR SOCIAL CAPITAL

Brian Niccol was at the top of the headlines when he became the new CEO of Starbucks. We’ve been following him closely since he turned Chipotle into the embodiment of a people-centric Social Capital company. “It’s one thing to say we’re trying to be better, another thing to actually demonstrate that you are getting better,” he told us when he was in the midst of transforming Chipotle. “And I’m really proud of that. And when you spend time with, whether it’s our employees talking about the work we’re doing with a young farmer or helping a farm move to regenerative farming or organic soils, it lights up our employee because they get excited about the food and our company at another level. I think it excites our customers when they start to discover we really are trying to make ‘food fast’ done differently.” We’re looking forward to seeing what he does at Starbucks. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a glimpse of Social Capital in Action, check out “The Words Brian Niccol Shared With Us While at Chipotle Bode Well for Starbucks.”