Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz was born in 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, growing up in challenging circumstances in public housing projects, which shaped his emphasis on employee welfare. He worked his way through Northern Michigan University and entered the business world at Hammarplast before discovering Starbucks, a small Seattle coffee bean retailer, in 1981. Inspired by Italian espresso bars during a 1983 trip to Milan, he joined Starbucks in 1982 as director of retail operations and marketing, envisioning coffeehouses as a 'third place' between home and work for community and experience. Unable to convince original owners Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker to adopt his vision, Schultz left in 1985 to launch Il Giornale coffee shops, which succeeded quickly. In 1987, he led investors to buy Starbucks for a few million dollars, merging it with Il Giornale and assuming roles as president and CEO. Under his leadership from 1986-2000, Starbucks expanded rapidly from under 20 stores to over 100 by the early 1990s, went public in 1992, and spread espresso culture nationwide and globally by the late 1990s, emphasizing quality beans, employee investment, and supply chain management. Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2000, succeeded by Orin Smith and later Jim Donald, but returned in 2008 amid the financial crisis to close underperforming stores, refocus on core values, and grow market share through expanded offerings and social responsibility. He served again as CEO from 2008-2017, with Kevin Johnson taking over, and Schultz becoming chairman emeritus in 2018. In 2022, he returned as interim CEO until Laxman Narasimhan's appointment in 2023, after which he remained on the board.