Starbucks’ Schultz quits – for politics?
Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz will leave the coffee chain later this month, fuelling speculation that the billionaire may be mulling a run for the US presidency in the age of celebrity leaders.
Mr Schultz said that he is “thinking about a range of options for myself, from philanthropy to public service, but I’m a long way from knowing what the future holds”.
Mr Schultz, 64, aimed for a big splash with his departure. He gave an interview to The
New York Times in advance and spoke to CNBC yesterday.
He told the New York Times he has become “deeply concerned about our country — the growing division at home and our standing in the world”. He did not commit to a presidential run, although he could lean on the experience of board member Bill Bradley, the ex-senator and former Democratic presidential candidate.
The New York Times reported in March 2017 that Mr Schultz “came close” to entering the 2016 presidential race but backed off after concluding that Hillary Clinton would win the nomination.
He made a high-profile endorsement of Mrs Clinton in New York in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Mr Schultz, who helped Starbucks grow from 11 stores to more than 28,000 in 77 countries, will become chairman emeritus on June 26. His exit brings to a close a nearly four-decade run at the company that ushered coffee house culture into mainstream American life and carved out a global restaurant empire to rival McDonald’s.
Retailing executive Myron Ullman will take over as the new head of the board, Starbucks said.
The coffee company is still growing in the United States, but not at the spectacular rates of the past. It is betting big on China, where it plans to more than triple revenue in the next five years. Investors are not impressed by the company’s outlook, and its shares have fallen about 11 per cent in the past year.
Mr Schultz has grown increasingly political in recent years, showing a willingness to wade into thorny social issues and lamenting the divisiveness in the US.
He has also spoken frequently about being a “servant leader” since he returned to the helm of Starbucks in 2008 after a hiatus. He gave a statement in 2015 saying that the next president should be able to work with both parties in Congress. “Everyone seeking the presidency professes great love for our nation,” he said.
“But I ask myself, how can you be a genuine public servant if you belittle your fellow citizens and freeze out people who hold differing views?”
Last April, Mr Schultz transitioned from chief executive to executive chairman, where he oversaw the company’s social impact initiatives.
Mr Schultz will be spending more time with his family this summer, as well as working on a book about the chain’s social impact, the company said.
I’m thinking about a range of options, from philanthropy to public service, but I’m a long way from knowing