Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz
Howard D. Schultzis an American businessman. He is best known as the chairman and CEO of Starbucks and a former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics. He was a member of the Board of Directors at Square, Inc. In 1998, Schultz co-founded Maveron, an investment group, with Dan Levitan. In 2012, Forbes magazine ranked Schultz as the 354th richest person in the United States, with a net worth of $1.5 billion...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth19 July 1953
CityBrooklyn, NY
CountryUnited States of America
The evolving social and digital media platforms and highly innovative and relevant payment capabilities are causing seismic changes in consumer behavior and creating equally disruptive opportunities for business.
We think of Starbucks not as a coffee company but a media company.
It's different when you're trying to turn something around, especially something that you built, at a time when so many constituents - the media, Wall Street, competitors, ex-employees - are all saying that Starbucks's best days are behind it, and that Schultz is never going to be able to bring it back.
Social and digital media is a bullet train, and that bullet train is not coming home.
Overnight the digital age had changed the course of history for our company. Everything that we thought was in our control no longer was. But within a year we had invested in social media and digital experts. Now Starbucks is the number one brand on Facebook.
We think we're on track to become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. We're in 35 markets already. There are some new markets that we're very interested in, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. India is another unique place to be in but it's not going to happen tomorrow. But at the same time, we're more focused on filling in the markets we're already in.
We have a big opportunity in China, ... We think the number of stores here can rival the number in North America.
With less than a month to go, it's very clear to us that the city and state officials are not showing us the kind of respect we feel we deserve.
We are as passionate about our commitment to our communities as we are about achieving financial success.
I'm not losing any sleep over Dunkin Donuts.
You can't build any kind of organization if you're not going to surround yourself with people who have experience and skill base beyond your own.
London, a city where creativity and innovation have always flourished, provides a significant home for Starbucks and a significant gateway into Europe,
I think many start-ups make mistakes because they are focusing on things that are farther ahead, and they haven't done the work that has built the foundation to support it.
We must restore the emotional relationship that people have to the idea of America, that no matter where you come from, no matter where you live, that you have access to the same opportunities that somebody who is born in privilege.