Schultz, Howard (1953- )

US retailing entrepreneur who developed Starbucks from a single store selling coffee beans into a worldwide coffee empire with over 3,000 outlets within 16 years. Schultz joined the original Starbucks store in Seattle, Washington, as head of retail sales in 1982. On a business trip to Italy in 1983 he noticed the popularity of espresso bars in Milan and saw the potential for a similar coffee bar culture in Seattle. When Starbucks' founders rejected the concept, Schultz left the company in 1985 to open his own, Il Giornale, selling beverages made from Starbucks' coffee beans. Two years later he raised the venture capital of nearly $4 million to buy Starbucks itself. In 2000 Schultz stepped down as CEO to become chairman and chief global strategist.

Starbucks, which is acclaimed for its commitment to staff (all employees, including part-timers, have health insurance and stock options) went public in 1992. In October 2000, the New York Times set up a marketing partnership with the company to advertise its products in exchange for being the only newspaper sold in its stores.

Schultz was born in Brooklyn, New York. Living in federally-subsidised housing, he was the first of his family to get a college degree (a BS in communications from Northern Michigan University in 1975). Before joining Starbucks he worked as a salesman for Xerox and Hammarplast, a Swedish household plastic products manufacturer. Schultz's autobiography, Pour Your Heart Into It, was published in 1997. The proceeds were donated to the Starbucks Foundation, founded in the same year to benefit local literary programmes, including charitable projects with US baseball player Mark McGuire in 1999. Since 1991 the company has had a relationship with CARE, the international relief organization, supporting workers in coffee growing countries.