Seattle — Starbucks Corporation has made several leadership promotions to advance the company’s strategic business goals and position Starbucks on a clear growth path for the future. The company promoted John Culver as group president, North America and chief operating officer; Michael Conway to group president, international and channel development; and Michelle Burns to executive vice president, Global Coffee, Tea and Cocoa. These changes are effective as of June 28, 2021.
“As we plan for the 2022 fiscal year and beyond, Starbucks is fortunate to have a deep, talented and diverse team of senior executives we are able to tap to help lead us forward,” says Kevin Johnson, president and chief executive officer. “These appointments support our growth at scale agenda to bring about predictable, sustainable growth for the long term, as well as our commitments to being a people positive and planet positive company. I want to congratulate John, Michael and Michelle on their promotions and look forward to continuing to work with them closely.”
Culver joined Starbucks in 2002 and has been at the forefront of the growth and expansion for the company across multiple geographies and cultures, leading Starbucks International for the last 15 years. Under his leadership, Starbucks International’s presence has grown to encompass more than 15,000 retail stores and more than 800,000 points of presence through channels outside its stores.
Conway joined Starbucks in 2013 to lead channel development and, since that time, has gone on to lead Starbucks U.S. licensed stores and Canada businesses. In his expanded role as group president, international and channel development, he will oversee the retail business segment that includes all international markets outside of the U.S. and Canada. He’ll also lead Starbucks’ global channel development business segment including the Global Coffee Alliance with Nestlé.
Burns leads Starbucks Global Coffee, Tea and Cocoa with more than 26 years of experience at Starbucks. Her promotion to executive vice president reflects the importance of coffee as core to Starbucks’ business.
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with nearly 33,000 stores worldwide, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. For more information, visit www.starbucks.com.
SOURCE: Starbucks Coffee Company