Howard D. Schultz

Howard D. Schultz served as chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks Corporation from 1986 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2017. He built a small local company into a major international corporation. Under Schultz, the company established a large network of stores which has influenced coffee culture in Seattle, the U.S., and internationally. Following large-scale distribution deals Starbucks became the largest coffee-house chain in the world. Schultz took the company public in 1992 and used a $271 million valuation to double the company’s store count. Under his leadership Starbucks became the first U.S. company to offer part-time workers, particularly baristas, healthcare coverage. The company was also an early supporter of marriage equality, the green economy, and fair trade (benefitting indigenous farmers). In 2014, Schultz launched the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, a partnership with Arizona State University, which allows all employees at Starbucks working 20 or more hours a week to qualify for free tuition through ASU's online courses. He is notable also for his philanthropy, through the Schultz Family Foundation, which he and his wife Sheri established in 1996. They support Onward Youth, which promotes employment for young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not in school and not working, and Onward Veterans, which aims to help post-9/11 military veterans to successfully transition to civilian life.