Howard D. Schultz Bio
Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author best known for leading Starbucks through multiple periods of expansion and transformation. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of the company across three separate tenures: from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and again as interim chief executive officer from 2022 to 2023. Beyond Starbucks, Schultz is a published author, the former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team, and an active philanthropist focused on youth employment and veterans’ causes.
Raised in Brooklyn public housing, Schultz graduated from Northern Michigan University and built his business career across sales, marketing, and executive leadership. He is widely credited with shaping modern coffee culture in the United States and abroad, and with growing Starbucks from a small Seattle chain into the largest coffeehouse company in the world.
Howard D. Schultz Early Life and Background
Howard D. Schultz was born on July 19, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York, to Fred Schultz, a truck driver, and Elaine Schultz, a receptionist. He grew up in the Canarsie public housing projects alongside two siblings. Schultz later described his family as poor, although some childhood contemporaries recalled a more middle-class upbringing in the neighborhood.
He attended Canarsie High School, graduating in 1971. After high school, Schultz enrolled at Northern Michigan University, where he joined the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and played football in hopes of earning an athletic scholarship. A football injury ended his playing career, and he graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in communications.
During his formative years, Schultz also spent time at the Boys’ Club of New York, an experience he has credited as influential to his later philanthropy focused on youth. These early experiences shaped his commitment to opportunity and upward mobility, themes that would appear throughout his career and writing.
Path to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks
Schultz began his business career in 1976 as a salesman for Xerox in New York. In 1979, he was recruited by a private equity firm to run the United States operations of Hammarplast, a Swedish kitchenware manufacturer. In that role, he frequently visited Starbucks in Seattle to purchase plastic cone filters, giving him his first exposure to the small coffee retailer.
In 1982, Schultz joined Starbucks as the director of retail operations and marketing. A 1983 buying trip to Milan, Italy, introduced him to the Italian espresso bar culture, and he became convinced that Starbucks should serve traditional espresso beverages. When the original owners declined to expand the cafe concept, Schultz left in 1985 to start his own coffee bar, Il Giornale.
By 1986, he had raised the capital needed to open the first Il Giornale location in Seattle. In 1987, Il Giornale merged with the original Starbucks retail unit, and Schultz rebranded the combined company under the Starbucks name. He would go on to lead the company for more than three decades, across three separate tenures as chairman and chief executive officer.
Howard D. Schultz Career
Early Career (1976–1986)
Schultz started in sales at Xerox in 1976, learning foundational business skills that would later shape his leadership style. He moved to Hammarplast in 1979, where he became general manager of the United States subsidiary and handled the company’s coffee machine operations.
While visiting Starbucks in 1981 to purchase equipment filters, he became intrigued by the small Seattle coffee company. His exposure to Italian espresso bars during a 1983 buying trip convinced him that American consumers would embrace a similar cafe experience.
Starbucks Breakthrough (1986–2000)
After merging Il Giornale with Starbucks in 1987, Schultz rebranded the chain and began an aggressive national expansion. He positioned Starbucks as a social gathering place, helping introduce what many describe as the second wave of American coffee culture. Under his leadership, Starbucks held its initial public offering on June 26, 1992, raising $271 million and doubling its store count.
Throughout the 1990s, Schultz oversaw rapid growth and the first international store openings, including the debut in China in January 1999. By the time he stepped down as chief executive officer on June 1, 2000, Starbucks had grown into a dominant global coffee chain. During this period, he also co-founded the Schultz Family Foundation in 1996.
Return Era (2008–2017)
Schultz returned as chief executive officer on January 7, 2008, succeeding Jim Donald during the 2008 financial crisis. He led a mass restructuring that included executive layoffs, the closure of hundreds of underperforming stores, and a temporary shutdown of United States locations to retrain baristas in espresso preparation.
He expanded fair trade coffee sourcing, doubled Starbucks’ annual purchases of fair trade coffee, and introduced healthcare benefits and stock options for part-time workers. Schultz also oversaw Starbucks’ first chief technology officer appointment and launched the Starbucks College Achievement Plan with Arizona State University in 2014. He stepped down as chief executive officer in December 2016, having added nearly $100 billion to Starbucks’ market capitalization during his second tenure.
Interim Era (2022–2023)
On March 16, 2022, Starbucks announced that Schultz would return as interim chief executive officer following Kevin Johnson’s retirement. He led the company through a period of union organizing campaigns and testified before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on March 29, 2023.
On March 20, 2023, Schultz stepped down early from the interim role, two weeks before incoming chief executive officer Laxman Narasimhan was scheduled to take over. His return was marked by his vocal opposition to ongoing unionization efforts at Starbucks locations across the country.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Schultz’s most significant milestones are Starbucks’ 1992 initial public offering, the opening of the first Starbucks store in China in 1999, and the doubling of fair trade coffee purchases during his second tenure. He also purchased the Seattle SuperSonics in 2001 for $200 million and sold the team in 2006 for $350 million, a decision he later called one of the biggest regrets of his professional life.
Howard D. Schultz Family
Family Background and Personal Life
Schultz was born to Fred and Elaine Schultz in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up with two siblings in the Canarsie public housing projects. He has spoken publicly about his working-class roots and the influence of his parents on his later philanthropy.
Personal Life
In 1982, Schultz married Sheri Kersch. The couple has two children, including a son, Jordan Schultz, a sports analyst and NFL insider currently working for Bleacher Report. The family resides in Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood, and Schultz is a noted coffee aficionado, reportedly drinking four to five cups of coffee every day.