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
What I'm trying to talk about is the preservation of a culture,
We have no alternative. This is not a philanthropic venture. We're not trying to make money, we just want to stop losing (money).
I never wanted to be on any billionaires list. I never define myself by net worth. I always try to define myself by my values.
When we began Starbucks, what I wanted to try to do was to create a set of values, guiding principles, and culture.
Whatever you do, don't play it safe. Don't do things the way they've always been done. Don't try to fit the system. If you do what's expected of you, you'll never accomplish more than others expect.
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.
Starbucks trying to build a different kind of company around the balance of profitably and benevolence. A social conscience. And that isn't a program it has to be a way of life.
The success of the Starbucks has been based on this balance between profitability and a social conscience. Everywhere we're doing business, were trying to manage the business through the lens of humanity.
There's tension here, and I'm just trying to respond in a responsible way,
We establish the value of buying a product at Starbucks by our uncompromising quality and by building a personal relationship with each customer. Starbucks is rekindling America's love affair with coffee, bringing romance and fresh flavor back to the brew.
Our core beverages, coupled with a strong holiday promotion, drove results in our retail stores, while solid growth in licensed locations led to the increase in our specialty business revenues.
I think from his speech and his remarks, we see a genuine and authentic feeling of wanting not only an open relationship with (our) country but also a genuine commitment to making sure these are stages of growth and development for our two nations.
Management's proposal to declassify the Board demonstrates Starbucks Board of Directors commitment to good corporate governance practices. The Board believes that the annual election of directors is a primary means for shareholders to influence corporate governance policies and hold management accountable for implementing those policies.
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.