“When I first discovered in the early 1980s the Italian espresso bars in my trip to Italy, the vision was to re-create that for America - a third place that had not existed before. Starbucks re-created that in America in our own image; a place to go other than home or work. We also created an industry that did not exist: specialty coffee.”

American businessman and author

Howard D. Schultz is an American businessman and author. He led Starbucks as chairman and chief executive officer from 1986 to 2000, returned to those roles from 2008 to 2017, and later served as interim CEO from 2022 to 2023. He is best known for his long association with Starbucks and for helping guide the company over several decades. He also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team from 2001 to 2006, adding sports ownership to a career built in business and writing.