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Howard Behar
Former President of Starbucks Coffee Company
Howard Behar
Former President of Starbucks Coffee Company
Biography
Howard Behar's career in business spans over 50 years, all in consumer oriented businesses covering several industries. He retired from Starbucks Coffee Company after 21 years, where he led both the domestic business, as President of North America, and was the founding President of Starbucks International. During his tenure, he participated in the growth of the company from only 28 stores to over 15,000 stores spanning five continents. In addition, Behar helped establish the Starbucks culture, which stresses the importance of people over profits. He coached hundreds of leaders at every level and helped the company grow into a world-renowned brand.
A frequent speaker on the topics of organizational and personal leadership, Behar now serves on several Boards, including for-profit organizations such as iD Tech, Education Elements and the advisory boards of Anthos Capital. His non-profit commitments are to the University of Washington Foundation and he is a Trustee for the Biller Family Foundation. He is also involved in the UW Business School mentoring program.
Behar is committed to the development and education of our future leaders and has been a longtime advocate of the Servant Leadership Model. He has also authored two books on leadership, titled It's Not About the Coffee and The Magic Cup.
Howard Behar presents inspiring keynotes and leads thought-provoking Q&A’s with large and small audiences, ranging from corporations to educational institutions to boards to governance groups and nonprofit organizations. He is committed to exchanging ideas and creating dialogue around the ways we lead ourselves and others in organizations today. He also addresses the role personal leadership plays in our individual lives.
Speech Topics
It's Not About the Coffee
During his many years as a senior executive at Starbucks, Howard Behar helped establish the Starbucks culture, which stresses the importance of people over profits. He coached hundreds of leaders at every level and helped the company grow into a world-renowned brand. Now, he reveals the ten principles and the memorable wisdom that guided his leadership and success—and not one of them is about coffee.
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