How Starbucks’ CTO balances tech investments that can make work easier for baristas without losing the human touch

A key pillar of the turnaround plan at Starbucksthat's being spearheaded by CEO Brian Niccol is to focus more on human connection between employees and customers and put less emphasis on technology. So what does that mean for Chief Technology Officer Deb Hall Lefevre?

“The technology story here at Starbucks—guess what?—the star of the story is not technology,” says Lefevre. “It's human connection in our coffee houses.”

Technology, she says, will continue to be weaved throughout Starbucks’ strategy...