Starbucks Boss Steps Down Amid Oval Office Chatter

(RTTNews) - Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) said Monday that Howard Schultz is stepping down as executive chairman and member of the board of directors later in June, after overseeing the coffee giant's rapid expansion over the past 40 years. He will be honored with the title of chairman emeritus, effective June 26, 2018.

Schultz, a fierce critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, is stepping down from Starbucks amid growing speculation that he is considering running for President in 2020.

He has been earlier rumored as a potential Democrat candidate and was an advocate for Hillary Clinton when she was a presidential candidate.

Starbucks also said that its board has appointed Myron "Mike" Ullman, former Chairman and CEO of J.C. Penney Co., as its new chair of the Board.

Mellody Hobson, president of Chicago-based management company Ariel Investments LLC, will be the new vice chair of the Board. Both the appointments are effective upon Schultz's retirement.

Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982 as director of operations and marketing. At that time, Starbucks was a single store in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market. He became the company's CEO in 1987.

During his four decades as CEO and chairman, Schultz grew Starbucks from 11 stores to more than 28,000 stores in 77 countries by early 2018. Under Schultz's leadership, Starbucks has delivered a 21,000 percent gain in the value of its stock price since its IPO in 1992.

Schultz transitioned from Starbucks CEO to executive chairman in April 2017, shifting his full-time focus to the company's social impact initiatives as well as global development of the company's premium Reserve brand.

Starbucks has taken progressive stances on social issues under Schultz. Last year, the company announced that it will provide jobs for 10,000 refugees worldwide.

Schultz has won many accolades during the past several years. He has been named as one of "The World's Most Influential People" by Time magazine as well as "Business Person of the Year" by Fortune.

Schultz said he is looking forward to spending more time with his family this summer.

He is also writing a book about Starbucks social impact work and the efforts to redefine the role as well as responsibility of a public company in an ever-changing society.