Howard Schultz
Shortly after joining Starbucks as Director of Marketing in 1981, Howard Schultz returned from a trip in Milan, Italy with a better understanding of the social makeup revolving around coffee shops.
He learned that there were close to a quarter-million coffee shops in Italy, and these were the places where people met to socialize over everything from business to romance. Schultz returned to Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle and tried persuading the owners to follow Italy’s coffee-forward social lead. But it did not happen.
Though he was short on money and his wife was pregnant with their first baby, Schultz raised enough for his first coffee store, the Il Giornale, named after a Milani newspaper. Two years later, the owners of Starbucks sold the Starbucks retail unit to Il Giornale for nearly $4 million, and Starbucks spread across the states and became the well-respected brand it is today.
Schultz innovates not only in the way of coffee, but through customer and employee relations through unique marketing concepts and employee incentives such as free education.
These top-5 CEOs continue to pave the way in their respective industries and are among the most widely recognized business executives. Whether you are looking to invest in a CEO or you are a business owner looking to learn from the best, keep these leading names in mind.
Image credit: CC by Richard Eriksson
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