Bid now on this rare opportunity to have a coffee tasting with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in Seattle!
Howard Schultz is chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks Coffee Company. Howard moved to Seattle from his native New York and joined Starbucks in 1982, when the small coffee company had four stores in the Seattle area. In 1983, he traveled to Italy and was captivated by the culture and romance of the Italian coffee bar. He had a vision to bring the Italian coffeehouse tradition to America, creating a third place between work and home. To pursue his dream, Howard left Starbucks to create his own coffee company, Il Giornale. In 1987, he and a group of local investors purchased Starbucks.
The company’s vision and guiding principles have been a major part of its success. These are highlighted by three of its landmark programs: comprehensive healthcare coverage, stock option grants, and a fully-paid college tuition program with Arizona State University for all full and part-time partners (employees). Now Starbucks has grown to more than 22,000 stores in 66 countries with more than 300,000 partners (employees) serving 75 million customers who visit the stores every week. Throughout its growth, Starbucks has remained true to its coffee heritage, provided a connection and a sense of community for its customers, and shared its success with its partners.
Under Howard’s leadership, Starbucks has become one of the most respected global brands and has become a cultural icon. Howard has been recognized extensively for his passion, leadership, and efforts to strengthen communities, with honors including the 2013 Kellogg Award for Distinguished Leadership from Northwestern University for his commitment to employees and communities and being named Fortune’s 2011 Businessperson of the Year for delivering record financial returns for the company while leading an effort to spur job creation in the U.S.
He is the best-selling author of For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice (2014), Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul (2011), and Pour Your Heart Into It (1997).