The Fort Worth Press - Howard Schultz returns to Starbucks as interim leader, Johnson exits

USD -
AED 3.672987
AFN 73.385132
ALL 95.346755
AMD 396.419624
ANG 1.80514
AOA 911.999994
ARS 1056.864878
AUD 1.590938
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.703608
BAM 1.88303
BBD 2.022346
BDT 121.697019
BGN 1.875953
BHD 0.376919
BIF 2965.444865
BMD 1
BND 1.352262
BOB 6.921585
BRL 5.769398
BSD 1.001593
BTN 87.038401
BWP 13.882711
BYN 3.277956
BYR 19600
BZD 2.011948
CAD 1.424895
CDF 2869.999878
CHF 0.904899
CLF 0.024862
CLP 953.590404
CNY 7.30905
CNH 7.29417
COP 4139.55
CRC 507.873239
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 106.162356
CZK 24.036953
DJF 177.719818
DKK 7.156355
DOP 62.186791
DZD 135.353245
EGP 50.623802
ERN 15
ETB 125.879448
EUR 0.959398
FJD 2.31225
FKP 0.803654
GBP 0.798975
GEL 2.820114
GGP 0.803654
GHS 15.475119
GIP 0.803654
GMD 71.496752
GNF 8659.359069
GTQ 7.73219
GYD 209.553886
HKD 7.78898
HNL 25.535192
HRK 7.225076
HTG 131.066886
HUF 386.353503
IDR 16270.2
ILS 3.56495
IMP 0.803654
INR 86.7542
IQD 1312.094123
IRR 42087.497004
ISK 140.83004
JEP 0.803654
JMD 157.561053
JOD 0.709497
JPY 153.273502
KES 129.149818
KGS 87.449783
KHR 4011.053022
KMF 474.550168
KPW 900.090061
KRW 1448.969964
KWD 0.30875
KYD 0.834753
KZT 500.363454
LAK 21772.597952
LBP 89699.750153
LKR 296.331242
LRD 199.816108
LSL 18.530393
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.928537
MAD 10.019111
MDL 18.780509
MGA 4688.801275
MKD 59.047052
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3461.151901
MOP 8.035873
MRU 39.860588
MUR 46.519774
MVR 15.419621
MWK 1736.798779
MXN 20.49025
MYR 4.454998
MZN 63.905074
NAD 18.530393
NGN 1507.360193
NIO 36.855711
NOK 11.198785
NPR 139.26326
NZD 1.770675
OMR 0.385011
PAB 1.001603
PEN 3.721483
PGK 4.027363
PHP 57.919
PKR 279.729453
PLN 4.008318
PYG 7878.534052
QAR 3.651681
RON 4.775103
RSD 112.352972
RUB 89.500959
RWF 1426.687078
SAR 3.750677
SBD 8.446964
SCR 14.394698
SDG 601.000323
SEK 10.79096
SGD 1.347745
SHP 0.823587
SLE 22.808965
SLL 20969.505638
SOS 572.388627
SRD 35.35027
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.764303
SYP 13003.016048
SZL 18.519588
THB 33.734498
TJS 10.917695
TMT 3.5
TND 3.194643
TOP 2.342102
TRY 36.0901
TTD 6.797318
TWD 32.756304
TZS 2610.498985
UAH 41.787521
UGX 3685.571105
UYU 43.46047
UZS 13024.661939
VES 61.266985
VND 25465
VUV 123.663246
WST 2.837369
XAF 631.559843
XAG 0.031082
XAU 0.000343
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.766968
XOF 631.550722
XPF 114.822678
YER 248.000316
ZAR 18.57485
ZMK 9001.196327
ZMW 28.020431
ZWL 321.999592
  • RBGPF

    -0.8400

    64.01

    -1.31%

  • CMSC

    0.1300

    23.41

    +0.56%

  • SCS

    0.4900

    12.42

    +3.95%

  • CMSD

    0.1600

    23.87

    +0.67%

  • GSK

    0.4200

    36.55

    +1.15%

  • RYCEF

    0.2100

    7.88

    +2.66%

  • RIO

    1.2500

    63.29

    +1.98%

  • AZN

    0.0200

    74.45

    +0.03%

  • RELX

    0.4700

    51.91

    +0.91%

  • NGG

    0.6900

    61.27

    +1.13%

  • JRI

    0.0700

    12.92

    +0.54%

  • BCC

    1.8800

    120.6

    +1.56%

  • BCE

    0.3700

    23.63

    +1.57%

  • VOD

    -0.1600

    8.43

    -1.9%

  • BP

    -0.1900

    34.49

    -0.55%

  • BTI

    -3.1300

    39.61

    -7.9%

Howard Schultz returns to Starbucks as interim leader, Johnson exits
Howard Schultz returns to Starbucks as interim leader, Johnson exits

Howard Schultz returns to Starbucks as interim leader, Johnson exits

Starbucks announced Wednesday that longtime chief Howard Schultz will return to helm the global coffee shop chain on an interim basis while the company searches for a new leader amid a growing unionization drive.

Text size:

Kevin Johnson, who has led the coffee giant since 2017, plans to retire next month, the company said, adding it expects to name a new CEO by the fall.

Johnson told the board a year ago that he was considering retiring in the wake of the upheaval of the pandemic, calling the decision "a natural bookend to my 13 years with the company," according to a Starbucks press release.

Schultz, who first joined the company in 1982, grew Starbucks from a small Seattle coffee chain into a global juggernaut in two earlier stints as CEO.

Schultz also flirted with running for the US presidency in 2020, but ultimately opted against seeking office. His real-time wealth is $4 billion, according to a Forbes list of the richest people in the world.

"When you love something, you have a deep sense of responsibility to help when called," Schultz said. "Although I did not plan to return to Starbucks, I know the company must transform once again to meet a new and exciting future where all of our stakeholders mutually flourish."

Shares of the coffee chain rocketed higher Wednesday, even as union leaders expressed misgivings about Schultz.

- 'Reputational risk' -

The shakeup comes at a tricky time for Starbucks as it faces a wave of unionization campaigns that has spread to more than 100 US stores after workers at two upstate New York cafes voted to form a union in December.

The issue poses challenges for the chain, which has been viewed as a friendly company by many political progressives in the United States over its stances on gay marriage, the environment and other issues.

But Starbucks' tactics to discourage workers from unionization poses "reputational risk," shareholder activists argued in a letter sent to Johnson and Starbucks Chair Mellody Hobson ahead of the company's annual meeting later Wednesday.

Highlighting "alleged retaliatory termination and continued captive audience meetings," the group urged Starbucks to "publicly commit to a global policy of neutrality," said Trillium Asset Management, Parnassus Investments and other Starbucks shareholders who manage some $3.4 trillion in assets.

News of Schultz' reinstatement drew a cool response from Starbucks Workers United, which referred to the executive as a "leader in Starbucks' anti-union campaign," and urged him "to put union-busting behind him and embrace Starbucks' unionized future."

Ahead of the union vote, Schultz visited Buffalo in November to try to persuade workers against voting for the group.

In a letter to workers titled "From Buffalo with love," Schultz highlighted Starbucks' benefits for workers, including health care and free college tuition, saying he was "saddened and concerned" that workers felt outside representation was needed.

But on December 9, staff at two Buffalo cafes voted with Starbucks Workers United. Since that time, additional Buffalo-area shops have also voted with the group, along with a cafe in Mesa, Arizona.

Shares of Starbucks surged 7.9 percent to $89.69 in early trading.

F.Carrillo--TFWP