Patrick Grismer, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Starbucks, has announced plans to retire February 1, following a more than 35-year career in finance. Rachel Ruggeri, senior vice president of finance for Americas, will succeed Grismer in the role, reporting to Kevin Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Starbucks. Grismer will remain with the company as an adviser through May 2.

“I want to thank Pat for his leadership and his many contributions to Starbucks through this period of unprecedented change and transformative growth,” Johnson says. “He has played an important role helping the company deliver on our Growth at Scale agenda while building a strong finance team with deep expertise, and I remain as confident as ever in the future of Starbucks.”

Ruggeri has 28 years of experience in accounting, financial planning and analysis, and business process improvement. She joined Starbucks in 2001 as a member of the accounting team, helping to launch the first Starbucks Card, which was the foundation for the company’s digital engagement platform. During her tenure, she has held various finance positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of corporate financial planning and analysis, vice president of finance in support of the US business, and senior vice president of finance for global retail.

She has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Puget Sound and a master’s degree in business administration from Washington State University.

“It gives me great confidence to know that Rachel, a longtime Starbucks colleague and a seasoned financial executive, is stepping into this role,” Johnson says. “Not only does she have a comprehensive understanding of the food, beverage and retail industry and deep knowledge of our business, she is also passionate about the Starbucks brand and is highly respected by her colleagues across the organization. I look forward to working closely with Rachel in her new role to further fuel Starbucks success and drive value for all of our stakeholders by continuing to deliver consistent and predictable sales growth and margin expansion while investing in key strategic initiatives to ensure we even further differentiate Starbucks position over time.”