By Ben Glickman


Sweetgreen named former Starbucks executive Rossann Williams as its next operating chief.

Williams spent more than 18 years at Starbucks and most recently served as president of North America Retail, overseeing about 16,000 locations, Sweetgreen said.

The Los Angeles-based restaurant chain said Williams would step into the role effective Feb. 5.

Williams left Starbucks in June 2022. She was a prominent part of the coffee chain's response to unionization efforts.

Sweetgreen's last official COO, Chris Carr, departed from the company in March 2023, citing personal reasons. Stephanie Traut, then senior vice president of operations, stepped in to oversee operations.

Traut left Sweetgreen in December, according to her LinkedIn, and became COO of CorePower Yoga.


Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-02-24 1631ET