• Ad Age, Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:30 AM

Michelle Gass, one of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz' most-trusted advisers and architect of the multibillion-dollar Frappuccino franchise, is moving out of her key marketing role to run the company's Seattle's Best Coffee division, Emily Bryson York reports.

"Moving [Seattle's Best Coffee] into a distinct and separate business unit will provide the focus necessary to enable SBC's full potential in the specialty coffee marketplace," says Schultz.

As senior VP-marketing and category, Gass played an integral role in crafting Schultz's transformational agenda for Starbucks, Bryson York writes, and she has spearheaded the chain's drive to healthier and better-tasting food.

Annie Young-Scrivner, formerly CMO and VP-sales at Quaker, has been appointed global CMO. Terry Davenport, Starbucks' senior vp-marketing, will report to Young-Scrivner.

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