Is New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol Married? Details
"I’m at my best when I find time to go to dinner with my wife and get to a dance recital or a baseball game," Brian once said.
Published Aug. 13 2024, 10:08 a.m. ET
From pinto beans to coffee beans!
Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol is stepping into the role of CEO for Starbucks, taking over for Laxman Narasimhan starting on Sept. 9, 2024.
With his new (perhaps even more) high-profile job, burrito and latte lovers alike are wondering about Brian's personal life — namely whether he's married with kids in addition to conquering the professional world. Here's what we know about Brian's home life.
Brian Niccol is married to his wife Jennifer.
Per Starbucks, and as reported by CNN, Brian has set “new standards in the industry and driven significant growth and value creation" in his role at Chipotle. Clearly the coffee giant has high expectations for him as he starts his new job.
The Taco Bell and Pizza Hut alum has committed his professional life to overseeing food mega-brands, but in his home life, his heart is committed to his wife Jennifer.
Per Restaurant Business Online, Jennifer said "yes" to going on a blind date with her future husband because someone told her Brian resembled Tom Cruise. And the rest is history!
As for where they met exactly, it has been reported that Brian and Jennifer are both graduates of Miami University of Ohio. In fact, the couple gives back to their Cincinnati alma mater, with a $2 million donation in 2024 going toward the school's basketball program.
Their gift is aptly named the Niccol Family Basketball Award for Excellence in Academics and Athletics per Local12.
The couple also helps fund the creative arts at the university.
“A big part of our experience at Miami had to do with things outside our majors,” Jennifer explained in 2020. “For Brian, that was marketing, and for me, it was Dance Theatre. I feel blessed that we’re able to integrate those interests by helping a business student achieve their ambitions, and by helping a young deserving artist become a thriving artist through a Miami education."
She continued, "I’m thrilled that dance education is evolving and growing at Miami, and I look forward to becoming more involved with the College of Creative Arts.”
Brian and Jennifer Niccol have three kids together.
The couple lives in Newport Beach, Calif., and are reportedly parents to three kids. They enjoy attending their baseball games, dance recitals, and other activities.
While not too much is known about the kids, Brian spoke to the LA Times in 2015 about whether they would follow in his footsteps into the food industry, saying: “I think they all have a very creative spirit. If you’ve got a creative spirit, it definitely is a great place to find your trade.”
In a 2019 interview with Chicago Booth, Brian talked about how Jennifer stayed home to raise their brood, explaining, "My wife, Jennifer, was a schoolteacher before we had kids, and students that she once taught still reach out to her today because she cared."
He also sweetly shared, "I’m at my best when I find time to go to dinner with my wife and get to a dance recital or a baseball game."
