US drive-thru coffee business Dutch Bros has hired Kira Druyan as chief legal officer, replacing Victoria Tullett who is retiring in the new year.
Druyan was mostly recently deputy general counsel and chief ethics and compliance officer at global coffee giant Starbucks. At Dutch Bros she will oversee the company’s legal affairs, corporate governance and compliance functions, reporting directly to CEO and president Christine Barone. She will work alongside Tullett initially to ensure a smooth transition, before officially taking on the CLO role from 1 January.
Temple, Arizona-headquartered Dutch Bros serves coffee and other specialty drinks via its more than 1,200 drive-thru stores.
Barone said: “Kira brings depth of experience and a leadership approach that aligns with who we are at Dutch Bros. She’s a thoughtful, collaborative leader who builds strong teams and understands how to support a growing organisation while staying grounded in its people and culture.”
Druyan spent two years at Starbucks before her departure in June – her second spell at the company. That was punctuated by almost five years at MOD Pizza as CLO and just under two years as GC at Zume. She previously spent 11 years at Starbucks across a number of roles, latterly as divisional GC for law and corporate affairs.
Prior to that she worked in private practice as a corporate and securities lawyer at DLA Piper, following two earlier in-house roles – first at Prudential Capital Group and then at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Emerging Markets.
She started her career in private practice as a banking and finance and litigation associate at Mayer Brown.
She said: “Dutch Bros has built something truly special, with passionate people, a strong sense of community and a culture that puts people at the heart of everything it does. I’m excited to join the company at such an important time in its growth and to help build on that strong foundation.”
Tullett, meanwhile, is retiring next year after a three decade legal career, the past four years at Dutch Bros. Prior to that she spent more than 20 years at Papa Murphy’s International, first becoming GC in 2005 and then CLO in 2012.
She also had an earlier in-house spell at KinderCare Learning Centers as associate counsel for real estate.
Barone added: “Victoria has made a lasting impact on Dutch Bros. Her thoughtful counsel, steady leadership and commitment to our people have helped shape the company Dutch Bros is today. I’m incredibly grateful for her partnership, her contributions and the care she has brought to everything she does. We wish her all the best as she prepares for a very well-deserved retirement.”
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