Staffing

Sweetgreen hires former Starbucks leaders as chief people officer

Photo: Sweetgreen

October 8, 2026

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Sweetgreen has named Lauren Crowley as chief people officer as the fast-casual chain looks to strengthen its people organization for its next stage of growth.

Crowley will join Sweetgreen on Oct. 26 and report directly to co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman, according to a press release.

She brings more than 20 years of experience leading human resources organizations through growth and transformation at consumer and technology companies, including Expedia Group, Starbucks, Whole Foods Market and Dell.

Most recently, Crowley served as senior vice president of human resources at OC Sports & Entertainment, where she led the company's people function.

During seven years at Expedia Group, Crowley led enterprise-wide talent programs supporting 16,500 employees across 56 countries. At Starbucks, she led U.S. retail HR operations supporting more than 200,000 employees across more than 15,000 stores.

"What drew me to Sweetgreen is its unique combination of purpose, ambition and a genuine commitment to its people," Crowley said in the release. "I look forward to partnering with the leadership team and our restaurant teams to build on the strong foundation already in place and create an environment where our people can grow their careers and help shape what's next for the company."

Neman said Crowley's experience managing people organizations at scale will be important as Sweetgreen continues to evolve.

"Lauren brings the exact blend of strategic vision, operational rigor and people-first leadership that Sweetgreen needs at this stage of our journey," Neman said in the release. "She has a deep understanding of how to build strong cultures and people organizations at scale."

Crowley succeeds Adrienne Gemperle, who has served as Sweetgreen's chief people officer through a period of significant growth and change.

Gemperle will transition out of the role and work with Crowley through the end of the year to support the leadership change.

"Adrienne has been an extraordinary leader, partner and champion for our people, and I'm deeply grateful for everything she has given to Sweetgreen," Neman said. "She helped build and scale our people organization, and her impact can be seen across our culture, our leadership team and our restaurants."

Sweetgreen operates more than 285 restaurants across the U.S. The company opened its first 560-square-foot location in 2007 and has continued to expand its footprint while investing in technology, supply chain and restaurant operations.