Get Latest Business News from All Over the World 24/7 throughout the Year: Howard Schultz is stepping down this month as Starbucks CEO. He joins a growing list of executive departures in 2022, including Meta's Sheryl Sandberg and a slew of retail CEOs.

Sheryl Sandberg, Meta COO, shrugs while standing on stage at a Facebook event — Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Howard Schultz officially exits as Starbucks CEO - for a third time - this month.
He joins a growing list of executive departures in 2022, including Sheryl Sandberg from Meta and Jeff Zucker from CNN.
Check out some of the biggest executive exits of 2022.

In July, Gap announced Sonia Syngal would step down as CEO effective immediately. The retailer's executive chairman, Bob Martin, is serving as interim CEO. Syngal was Gap's CEO for only 2 years.

Former CEO of Gap Inc. Sonia Syngal
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

In February, John Foley, Peloton's co-founder, announced that he would step down as CEO. He was at the helm during the company's pandemic-fueled rise and its subsequent sharp drop in demand. Barry McCarthy, who was once CFO of both Spotify and Netflix, took over the top spot.

Peloton co-founder John Foley celebrates at the NASDAQ MarketSite on Sept. 26, 2019, the day of the company's IPO. — Peloton co-founder John Foley
Mark Lennihan/AP

CNN President Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned from his longtime post in February, saying he had failed to disclose a romantic relationship with a network executive. Zucker had been at CNN since 2013.

Sheryl Sandberg announced in early June that she would step down as COO of Meta, formerly Facebook. She had been with the company for 14 years and helped turn Facebook into an advertising juggernaut. Sandberg was often called Facebook's "adult in the room."

Under Armour unexpectedly announced that CEO Patrik Frisk would step down from the struggling athletic company in May after two years at the helm. Colin Browne, the company's COO, has served as interim CEO since June 1.

Howard Schultz is stepping down as CEO for a third and final time on October 1. Schultz began working at Starbucks in 1982 and eventually bought the company in 1987. Schultz has been interim CEO since April, and the company announced that Laxman Narasimhan would join as the new CEO.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz speaks at the company's Open Forum on April 4, 2022.
Starbucks video

Bed Bath & Beyond appointed board director Sue Gove as interim CEO in June, replacing Mark Tritton amid a slump in sales. The change came a few months after Chewy co-founder and activist investor Ryan Cohen bought a stake in the company and publicly criticized its turnaround strategy.

Adidas unexpectedly announced that CEO Kasper Rørsted would leave his role in 2023 before his contract runs out. Rørsted has been the head of Adidas since 2016 and spearheaded the company's often tumultuous relationship with rapper-turned-designer Kanye West.

In late June, Pinterest announced that co-founder Ben Silbermann would transition to a new role as executive chairman. Former Google executive and former Venmo CEO Bill Ready has taken over Pinterest's top job.

Ben Silbermann Pinterest CEO — Horacio Villalobos/Getty Images

Dollar General announced that its CEO Todd Vasos will retire from his position effective November 1. Jeffrey Owen, who has been COO of the budget retailer, will take over as CEO. Vasos plans to stay in a senior advisory role through April 2023.

Dollar General store in Bushwick — Dollar General store
Insider/Brittany Chang

Glossier CEO Emily Weiss announced in a blog post earlier this year that Kyle Leahy, the company's chief commercial officer, would replace her as CEO. Weiss, who founded Glossier in 2014, will stay on as executive chairwoman.

Emily Weiss Glossier — Steve Jennings/Getty Images

Earlier this month, oil giant Shell announced that its CEO Ben van Beurden would step down at the end of the year. Van Beurdan joined Shell in 1984 and has served as CEO since 2014.

Drivers fill up at a Shell gas station. — Consumers fill up at a Shell gas station July 13, 2022, in Miami Beach, Fla.
Marta Lavandier/AP Photo

Reckitt Benckiser, the British consumer goods company that makes Lysol, Clearasil, and AirWick, announced earlier this year that its CEO Laxman Narasimhan would be stepping down. Narasimhan left his role to take the helm at Starbucks.

Laxman Narasimhan
Guillermo Gutierrez/Bloomberg

In May, Bath & Body Works CEO Andrew Meslow announced he would resign from his role - and give up his board seat - due to health reasons. Meslow took over as CEO in May 2020.

Bath and Body Works Black Friday — Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Denny's named Kelli Valade the fast-casual chain's new CEO effective June 13, replacing John Miller. Valade was once CEO of Red Lobster, and before that, she was president of Chili's Bar & Grill.

In August, Kewsong Lee abruptly stepped down as CEO of private equity juggernaut Carlyle Group. Lee left before the end of his five-year contract, which was set to expire at the end of 2022.