Visionaries Behind the Brew: List of CEOs and Founders of Starbucks

Starbucks is a popular global coffee powerhouse. The iconic coffee hub is shaped by a wide array of influential leaders who have guided its path from a tiny Seattle store to an international phenomenon. Today, we explore the key figures who have been behind the evolution of Starbucks. The piece of content you are reading right now will focus on the visionary founders who set the company, and the powerful CEOs who have steered the growth of Starbucks through multiple phases of expansion and innovation. Take a look at the achievements and stories of the pivotal individuals who have played an important role in making Starbucks a household coffeeshop name all across the globe.

Founders of Starbucks: Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker

Everything started in the year 1971, when these three began their journey as owners of a small coffee shop situated in Seatle. Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker set the base for what is today a globally recognized brand.

While today, Starbucks has touched peaks of tremendous success, this success is much ahead of the modest initial expectations of the founders. Situations at that time compelled the founders to sell the company in the year 1987 to Howard Schultz.

When the company fell in the hands of Schultz, his leadership transformed the company into an $80 billion company, gradually.

Howard Schultz

As mentioned above, the company was sold to Schultz in the year 1987. He became the CEO of the company and worked hard to materialize his vision to create an empire around Starbucks.

He kickstarted rapid expansion of the company, while also holding intact the quality standards for premium coffee. Soon Schultz transformed Starbucks into a premier brand.

However, while everything was going good and Starbucks was experiencing successful international debut and IPO, the CEO chose to step down from the position in the year 2000.

Orin C. Smith

The next to take over the chair of the CEO was Orin C. Smith. Now, Smith faced with challenges of a week economy and rising competitors. However, he still managed to continue the growth of Starbucks, and set its name as a leading fair trade coffee.

However, he could not completely cater to the changing consumer preferences. In those times, the trend for low-carb diet was on a rise, and this had an adverse impact on frappuccino sales.

Despite all the challenges, Smith was successful in maintaing the profitability of Starbucks.

Jim Donald

Jim Donald was the next one to take the leadm and he was welcomed with rising competition from fast food chains following the niche of Starbucks. In such challenging situations, Jim Donald decided to expand his plans, and rapidly open new stores while enhancing innovation attempts, opening ways for customization.

His approach has always been quantity over quality. This, perhaps, made him overestimate the consumer demands. His efforts oversaturated the market. This led to a huge reduction in the same-store sales growth.

Howard Schultz 

Amid the global financial crisis, Howard Schultz returned as the CEO in the year 2008. He kickstarted a strong revitalization to enhance growth. He closed al the underperforming areas. He then switched back to the earlier priorities of the company, which was, customer experience.

The founding vision made him take these steps, and this very vission helped him suceed in reconnecting the company to its roots. This further, on the other hand, pushed a period of huge internationalization.

However, the rising challenge of rivals was not easy to combat.

His departure brought forward the challenge to choose the next sccessor.

Kevin Johnson

The successor was Kevin Johnson. In the year 2015, he was the President and COO when Schultz was the CEO. In the year 2017, after stepping down of Schultz, he became the CEO. At this time, concerns regarding the international and domestic expansion if the company were on the rise.

What Kevin Johnson focussed on was streamlining the store operatuons and dealing with novel retail formats. These enabled better convenience and the facility of mobile ordering.

Just like every CEO was met with several challenges, Johnson struggled to manage an increasing unionization movement. He further faced with excessive criticism for not connecting with the values and roots of the company. This led to the CEO's replacement after the sales slowed down.

Howard Schultz

This was the third time when Howard Schultz became the CEO of the company. After reclaiming the position in 2022, the aim he held was to re-energize the company amid inflation pressures and unionization efforts.

Schultz, however, faced severe backlasg for his perceived anti-union tactics. This signaled that the brand he created did not cater to the evolving societal expectations any longer. He also faced difficulties in quelling the controversies such as the one with the Black Lives Matter apparel.

Laxman Narsimhan

In the year 2023, Laxman Narsimhan took the helm of Starbucks at an important inflection point. He faced the challenges of the ongoing unionization pressures. He also dealt with strong calls to cater to political issues such as those related to LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.

What he changed was that he tried to reconnect with the frontline workers. He payed immense attention to open communication and initiavtives such as working shifts at stores. This was to indulge himself in the operations.