TWIC Woman of the Year Deb Hall Lefevre to Lead Technology at Starbucks
SEATTLE — Deb Hall Lefevre is taking her technology expertise back to the quick-service restaurant industry.
Formerly the global chief technology officer and executive vice president of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Hall Lefevre joined Starbucks as executive vice president, chief technology officer on May 2.
In her new role, she leads the technology function to ensure Starbucks' stores run smoothly while delivering winning digital partner and customer experiences, according to the Seattle-based company.
"Deb has a long track record of delivering impactful results through high performing teams, industry leading strategies, large scale, global digital and information technology initiatives and strong collaboration," Starbucks wrote on its website.
The technology veteran began her career at Motorola in 1989 and held several Information Technology and e-commerce roles. In 2001, she joined McDonald's Corp. where she held several positions in information technology, including chief information officer (CIO) of the U.S. segment and corporate vice president, global enterprise solutions and business transformation.
Convenience Channel Tenure
At Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard, the parent company of the global Circle K brand, Hall Lefevre was responsible for the global technology and digital strategy and execution across a network of approximately 15,500 locations and 125,000 employees. She began her tenure with the convenience retailer in 2017.
Hall Lefevre's initial focus was more on traditional technology work, such as standardization and support following a history of acquisitions and integrations. As time progressed, her role evolved and her core responsibilities included developing the strategy and priorities for Circle K's technology organization in close partnership with her functional peers, leading and developing the talent in the organization, and delivering secure and reliable solutions.
Hall Lefevre was named a 2019 Top Woman of the Year in the Convenience Store News Top Women in Convenience awards program.
"I leave a piece of my heart with Circle K/Alimentation Couche-Tard as I humbly accept the invitation to join the Starbucks team," Hall Lefevre wrote in a LinkedIn message, thanking President and CEO Brian Hannasch and the Circle K executive team for their partnership and friendship as the company navigated its digital transformation. "Cheers to Edward Dzadovsky as he steps into the CTO role ready to write the next chapter with all of you."
She also noted she was looking forward to the next chapter at Seattle.
"As I take the next step forward, I am honored to join a company I’ve always admired for doing the right thing, serving great coffee and leading with digital solutions. I can’t wait to get started," Hall Lefevre added.
With her departure from Couche-Tard, Dzadovsky moved to chief technology officer from his previous role as vice president, North America IT, Couche-Tard/Circle k.
"I’m truly honored to serve more than 700 innovators, technologists, analysts, project managers and change champions working as #oneteam to provide our people and stores around the world with capabilities and solutions that make our customers’ lives a little easier every day," Dzadovsky wrote on LinkedIn.
"I’m also extremely grateful for the mentorship of Deb Hall Lefevre over many years and wish her all the best as she begins her exciting new journey at Starbucks," he said. "As she passes the torch, I’m looking forward to building on her legacy of leadership, working with our amazing team to shape the future of convenience at Circle K and Couche-Tard."