Starbucks goes outside for a CIO

Starbucks, its stock having plummeted and its comparable store sales plunging, has hired a new CIO, Stephen Gillett, to help in what the iconic Seattle-based coffee chain hopes will be a major revitalization. Gillett, who most recently served as CIO of Corbis, a stock photography and footage company, replaces Bryan Crynes, who left Starbucks in January. The move could be key for Starbucks, which hopes to use IT to better connect with customers, build loyalty and boost sales. One tactic, company officials have said, is to use IT to aggregate and mine its data from customer payment cards, in order to examine buying patterns. The company will use this data to determine how employees can better serve customers and what new products customers will buy. In so doing, Starbucks is betting that the end result of the IT analysis will be more sales and profits.

For more about what's brewing at Starbucks:
- See this CIO Magazine article