Howard Schultz Biography

Howard Schultz is an American businessman and writer. Born to Fred and Elaine Schultz he grew up with his siblings, Ronnie and Michael, in the CanarsieBayview Houses of the New York City Housing Authority. He was a natural athlete, and with a sports ticket attended Northern Michigan University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Communications. He took his first job as sale person for Xerox Corporation, and then moved up as sales representative. He joined Starbucks as the Director of Marketing. While on an official trip to Milan, Italy, he noticed that every street had coffee bars that served not only excellent espresso, but also as meeting places. He wanted to introduce the concept in the US. When the owners of Starbucks declined the proposal, he started on his own, and opened the store called ‘IlGiornale’. Two years later, the original Starbucks’ management sold its Starbucks retail unit to Schultz. He renamed IlGiornale to Starbucks,and aggressively expanded it across the US rapidly. He also bought NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics, but sold the team to Clayton Bennett after a few years. He married Sheri Kersch, an interior designer.They have two children: son,Eliahu Jordan and daughter, Addison. Schultz has won numerous awards for his entrepreneurial abilities.