Expect to see less of Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, arguably the country’s best-known remote worker, in the coming months.
As part of a corporate turnaround plan, dubbed Back to Starbucks, the CEO of the Seattle-based coffee chain (Nasdaq: SBUX) last week unveiled a new workplace policy that requires corporate employees to return to the office four days a week, starting in October.
In addition, Starbucks said that all corporate “people leaders” will need to be located in either Seattle or Toronto within 12 months.
“We are reestablishing our in-office culture because we do our best work when we’re together,” Niccol said in a letter to employees. Niccol garnered headlines last summer for negotiating opening a remote office in Newport Beach and flying to Seattle on a company jet as needed.
The former Chipotle Mexican Grill (Nasdaq: CMG) chief executive isn’t immune to the recent changes. Company officials said that Niccol has bought a home in Seattle and that the company’s HQ is his “default” location when he’s not travelling to individual stores.
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It’s the start of a ‘Golden Decade’ for OC’s main tourism area, reports tourism marketing group Visit Anaheim.
The group reported that 26 million people in 2024 traveled to Anaheim, which is half a million more visitors than 2023.
Tourist spending in 2024 hit $6.6 billion in 2024, Visit Anaheim reported.
More’s in store, with the city expected to see a plethora of new development over the coming years.
“The future is so bright for tourism, both for visitors and the locals. We’ve got the James Beard restaurants, OCVibe and new attractions with DisneylandForward,” President and CEO Mike Waterman states.
The Wall Street Journal last week reported on the success of new development surrounding the Atlanta Braves’ 8-year-old stadium, with the recent All-Star Game serving “as the ultimate showcase not only for the ballpark but for the 2.25 million square feet of apartments, offices, hotels, restaurants and entertainment options that surround it.”
The project has been “the envy” of MLB, the WSJ said.
Given OCVibe plans to total more than 4 million square feet when completed, and the long-planned overhaul of Angel Stadium could add plenty more new development, Anaheim’s expansion is likely to draw even more envy.
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A defective configuration update by cybersecurity software firm CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD) on July 19, 2024, led to global disruptions to air travel, healthcare and other business.
A year later, the company—founded in Irvine in 2011 and now based in Austin, Texas, with some R&D operations still in this area – say they’ve strengthened their platform resilience and emerged from the ordeal “as a fundamentally stronger company.”
Wall Street thinks so. Shares in the firm are up nearly 25% over the past year, giving CrowdStrike a nearly $115 billion valuation.