Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz steps down from board of directors

By CNN Newsource

Published September 13, 2023 1:50 PM

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN

New York (CNN) — Starbucks announced Wednesday that Howard Schultz is stepping down from its board of directors – but the former chairman’s name will be sticking around.

Though Schultz is retiring, Starbucks is giving him the title of “lifelong Chairman Emeritus.”

Schultz is stepping down as part of a planned transition, Starbucks said in a statement. He previously stepped down as CEO in March, as employees at stores across the nation moved to unionize. That was Schultz’s third time serving in the CEO role.

“I look forward to supporting this next generation of leaders to steward Starbucks into the future as a customer, supporter and advocate in my role as chairman emeritus,” Schultz said in the statement.

Starbucks said Schultz is using retirement to focus on his wife, Sheri, and on a “range of philanthropic and entrepreneurial investments.”

The coffee giant elected Wei Zhang, senior advisor to Alibaba Group and who served as president of Alibaba Pictures Group, to its board beginning October 1. Zhang also serves on the board of Ralph Lauren Corporation, and was a past board member of Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, Amblin Partners and the Jack Ma Foundation.

Zhang’s appointment could aid Starbucks in China, which is one of the coffee chain’s biggest growth opportunities. Though sales in China faltered during Covid restrictions, quarterly revenue in China spiked 51% year-over-year in the three months ending on July 2, the company said.

“There is so much more opportunity,” Starbuck’s new CEO Laxman Narasimhan said in August. “We are still in our early days in China, one of the largest consumer markets.”

Schultz returned, like a boomerang, to leadership at the company several times. He first served as CEO from 1987 to 2000, returning to the role in 2008 until he handed over the title to Kevin Johnson in 2017. He stepped down as executive chairman and member of the board in 2018, but remained involved at the company.

Then, in April 2022, Johnson stepped down and Schultz took over the coffee giant as interim CEO.

Narasimhan was named the company’s incoming CEO on October 1 of last year and officially began his role in March 2023. But before handing over the reins, Schultz went full steam ahead on Oleato, a controversial line of olive oil-infused coffee drinks.

The chain has also been fighting off a wave of unionization efforts. More than 350 stores are unionized and there are more than 8,500 union partners, according to Starbucks Workers United.

“I am never coming back again because we found the right person,” Schultz said in September 2022 on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

– CNN’s Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report.