The coffee company has named Kris Engskov as the managing director for its UK and Ireland stores, taking over from Darcy Willson-Rymer, who is leaving Starbucks to head up another company. It is not yet clear where his new job is, but it will be announced next week.
Engskov was Bill Clinton’s so-called “body man” between 1997 and 2000, taking on the job of personally accompanying the President on all trips, providing companionship and sorting out various tasks. The unusual job came to prominence thanks to the phenomenally successful television show West Wing, which featured the character Charlie Young. The actor who played Charlie met with Engskov before filming the part.
Engskov took on the job one month before the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, and went on to be a White House press secretary, before leaving to become a lobbyist and joining Starbucks in 2003.
He spent two years in Britain between 2005 and 2007 running Starbucks’s London shops. It is understood that his ability to handle politicians and the media made him an ideal candidate to run Starbucks in a country that occasionally has a fraught relationship with the company.
Source – The Telegraph
