Dutch Bros Inc. CEO Joth Ricci is stepping down as head of the Oregon-based coffee chain at the end of the year and will be replaced by current Dutch Bros president Christine Barone, who will begin helming the company at the start of 2024, the company announced Tuesday ahead of the Q2 earnings call.
Ricci joined Dutch Bros as CEO in 2019 and will continue to serve as CEO during the transitional period before Barone becomes CEO on Jan. 1, 2024.
“It has been my great honor to serve as CEO and I’m so proud of all this team has accomplished,” Ricci said in a statement. “Dutch Bros is a strong, healthy business with a very special culture and long runway of growth ahead.”
Before joining Dutch Bros as president in Feb. 2023, Barone served as CEO of True Food Kitchen for almost seven years. Before that, she held multiple executive leadership positions at Starbucks, and currently serves on the board at Yelp.
“In setting the stage for the next phase of scaling the company, Christine has demonstrated her abilities and deep industry knowledge and experience,” Ricci said. “Over the last six months, she has immersed herself in our business and culture, and her impact has been felt immediately and decisively, notably in our real estate strategy, data analytics and marketing. Having played a key part in shaping our priorities and action plans moving forward, I am confident the time is right for me to pass the baton to Christine.”
The leadership transition is occurring during a time of rapid growth for Dutch Bros Coffee, which reported 34% revenue sales growth driven by a strong pipeline of store openings, as well as growing café margins and traffic for the brand, for the second quarter ended June 30.
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