Corporate Governance
Orin C. Smith was President and CEO of Starbucks from 2001 to 2005.
Starbucks' chairman, Howard Schultz, has talked about making sure growth does not dilute the company's culture and the common goal of the company's leadership to act like a small company.
In January 2008, Schultz resumed his roles as President and CEO after an eight-year hiatus, replacing Jim Donald, who took the posts in 2005 but was asked to step down after sales slowed in 2007. Schultz aims to restore what he calls the "distinctive Starbucks experience" in the face of rapid expansion. Analysts believe that Schultz must determine how to contend with higher materials prices and enhanced competition from lower-price fast food chains, including McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts. Starbucks announced it will discontinue its warm breakfast sandwich products, originally intended to launch nationwide in 2008, in order to refocus the brand on coffee, but the sandwiches were reformulated to deal with complaints and the product line stayed. On February 23, 2008, Starbucks closed its stores from 5:30–9:00 pm local time to train its baristas.
Read more about this topic: Starbucks
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