Starbucks’ North American President to Depart

The current North American President for Starbucks (Seattle), Rossann Williams, is leaving the company, according to CNBC. The current head of Starbucks’ Asian Pacific division, Sara Trilling, will take over Williams’ role. Trilling has been with Starbucks since about 2002, steadily working her way up from her beginnings in the company’s creative studio focusing on retail store design.

Williams worked for Starbucks since 2004 and previously held roles with Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us. In the past year, she’s been one of the outspoken executives at the company that was against unionization efforts. (As of this past Friday, more than 150 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize, CNBC reports.)

Starbucks COO John Culver said, “As we embark on the next chapter, we have made a difficult, but necessary change to our North American business; a change that creates new leadership for a new era at Starbucks. The decision was not taken lightly and was one preceded by discussion about a next opportunity for Rossann within the company, which she declined.”

This is the latest change since interim CEO Howard Schultz rejoined the company in April after CEO Kevin Johnson left the retailer. Schultz is planning to stay in the position until at least the end of the year when a long-term successor will be named. Much like Williams, Schultz has also pushed back against unionization efforts.