Howard Schultz will step in as interim chief executive of Starbucks.Credit…Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesIn an abrupt move, Starbucks said Wednesday that Kevin Johnson, its chief executive since 2017, was retiring after 13 years with the company.Howard Schultz, who joined Starbucks in the early 1980s and built it into a global giant, will step in as interim chief executive when Mr. Johnson, 61, leaves his job on April 4, the company said. Mr. Schultz, 68, had been chief executive for two previous stints, most recently from 2008 to 2017, when Mr. Johnson took over and Mr. Schultz became executive chairman. Starbucks said it had hired a search firm and expected to pick a new leader by fall. Mr. Schultz, who left the company in 2018, will also rejoin the company’s board of directors.The announcement comes ahead of Starbucks’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, during which Mr. Johnson will speak. Mr. Johnson said that he had first discussed his plans with the company’s board of directors last year.“A year ago, I signaled to th …
