Narasimhan’s Ouster at Starbucks Adds Fuel to Record Firing Pace

The abrupt departure of Laxman Narasimhan at the helm of Starbucks Corp. is adding to a record number of CEO ousters at US companies.

Of the 191 chief executive officers who have left companies in the Russell 3000 Index this year, 74 were considered to be fired or forced out, according to data compiled by exechange.com, a research provider that analyzes public sources to track executive changes. That’s the most at this time of year since the firm began tracking CEO departures in 2017.

Laxman Narasimhan

Photographer: Stephen Brashear/AP Photo

While Starbucks didn’t reveal the details around Narasimhan’s departure, exechange.com counted him in ...