Starbucks’ next CEO will come from outside the company, interim leader Howard Schultz told The Wall Street Journal

Schultz returned for his third stint in the top job in April after the departure of former CEO Kevin Johnson. Despite speculation from analysts and investors, he’s publicly denied that he plans to stay in the chief executive spot long term. The company’s board said Monday that it is on track to name a successor this fall. Schultz will stay on as interim CEO through the first quarter of the company’s fiscal 2023, which is around the end of the calendar year.

“This timeline provides the company the ideal runway for a seamless transition and continuity of leadership through the 2022 holiday season, as the business transformation continues,” Starbucks said.

Schultz will remain on the company’s board.

Whoever takes the reins will inherit a business that’s still recovering from the Covid pandemic, particularly in China, and is facing a swelling effort by baristas to unionize in the U.S. The company is also upgrading its U.S. cafes to match how customers want to order and pick up their coffees and striving to meet ambitious sustainability goals.

“For the future of the company, we need a domain of experience and expertise in a number of disciplines that we don’t have now,” Schultz stated.