Jim Donald
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James "Jim" Donald is the president and chief executive officer of Starbucks.[1]
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[edit] Early Career
Donald started work as a 16-year-old bag boy at a Tampa, FL Publix chain store. By age 19 he was assistant manager of an Albertsons chain, owned a house and was earning more than his schoolteacher father. [2] He rose through the ranks at Albertsons, constantly being relocated to struggling stores due to his reputation for successful turnarounds. [3] In 1991 Donald's reputation reached Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, who personally flew to Phoenix to convince Donald to run Walmart's new grocery division. In three years, Donald grew Wal-Mart's fledgling grocery division from 6 stores to 146. [2]
From 1994 to 1996 he served as president of Safeway's 130-store eastern division, and bolstered his reputation as a turnaround-leader. [3] Overseeing the $2.5 billion business and more than 10,000 employees, Donald succeeded in reversing Safeway's four-year trend in declining same-store sales.[4]
In 1996 Donald took over floundering Pathmark, a 143-store chain with valuable real estate but expensive debt. Donald filed Pathmark for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, washing the ailing company of debt, and succeeded in taking the new company public.
[edit] Career at Starbucks
Jim Donald joined Starbucks Coffee Company in October, 2002 as president of the North American division, and worked closely with retired CEO, Orin Smith and chairman Howard Schultz. During his tenure, Starbucks experienced record financial performance, particularly in North America.
Two years later, on October 12, 2004, Donald was promoted to president and chief executive officer effective March 31, 2005. In his function as CEO, Donald is responsible for all Company business operations, supply chain and general administrative functions, and serves on the Board of Directors.[3]
[edit] Education
A fulltime worker from the age of 16, Donald experienced difficulty in attending college. During his days at Albertsons, Donald enrolled in five colleges over the course of 15 years before earning his undergraduate business degree from Century College in Albuquerque. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/Company_Factsheet.pdf
- ^ a b c http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2005/0228/078_print.html
- ^ a b c http://bschool.washington.edu/ceo_exchange/donald_bio.shtml
- ^ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/218261_starbucks31.html
| Starbucks Corporation |
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Corporate Directors: Jim Donald | Barbara Bass | Howard Behar | Bill Bradley | Mellody Hobson | Olden Lee | Greg Maffei | Howard Schultz | James Shennan | Javier Teruel | Myron Ullman | Craig Weatherup |
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Assets & Products: Starbucks Entertainment | Hear Music | Pasqua Coffee | Seattle's Best Coffee | Tazo Tea Company | Torrefazione Italia |
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Annual Revenue: $6.4 billion USD ( |
