Starbucks
Katie Young is senior vice president, Global Growth and Development for Starbucks. In this newly created role, Katie is responsible for driving enterprise-wide trade area transformation, transforming the Starbucks store portfolio through the integration of the physical and digital experience. The store portfolio transformation includes new store formats such as the expansion of the new Starbucks Pickup stores, the launch of curbside, innovative drive-thru models, and future café formats. She is also responsible for accelerating the data-driven optimization of store locations across the United States and expanding this approach globally.
Katie joined Starbucks in 2012 and has held numerous leadership positions, including driving urban market strategy and leading the food category and innovation teams. She attributes much of her success over the years to her ability to unlock co-creation and speed of innovation in a large organization through shared briefs, integrated teams, customer-led insights, obsession with data, and relentless focus on joyful learning.
Prior to Starbucks, Katie as an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company, specializing in the social sector, CPG, and agribusiness. Her strategic focus was growth under uncertainty. She was part of the team that developed the first-ever agriculture strategy for the Gates Foundation. Other strategy work included: food security for 16 countries and creating transformational frontline change for the Ethiopian Government’s 60,000 extension agents.
Katie holds a master’s degree in public policy (MPP, International Development) from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and honors political science from Kenyon College. She currently serves on the boards of Global Washington, Trust for Public Land, and University of Washington Bothell business school.
Katie, her husband, and two children enjoy constantly exploring what Seattle has to offer. She can often be found at her local West Seattle Starbucks enjoying the daily dark roast or indulging with a Caramel Macchiato.
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Starbucks
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Starbucks ethically sources and roasts high-quality arabica coffee. They are known as the leading roaster and retailer of specialty coffee globally. Starbucks purchases, roasts, and serves award-winning coffee to its millions of customers. Their food and beverage offerings include Italian-style espresso beverages, cold blended beverages, seasonal drinks, hot breakfast, lunch, snacks, a bakery, and premium teas. Additionally, they sell merchandise like tumblrs and mugs as well as gift cards for special occasions. In some stores around the world, they sell alcoholic drinks. In everything they do, they always live by their mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. Founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker, Starbucks began as a single store front in Pike Place Market. Originally, they sourced their beans from Peet's Coffee & Tea. Eventually, Alfred Peet stopped supplying his own beans and began to train a new Roastmaster for the company. Following this transition, they sold the company in the 1980's to Howard Schultz who had Italian Coffeehouse aspirations. Originally a coffee bean store, Howard set out to make Starbucks an espresso-based coffeeshop and led much of the expansion of the franchise. With shifts in leadership over time, a decade was spent growing market share and defining corporate social responsibility. Starbucks went on acquire several operations as part of their strategy such as Seattle's Best Coffee, Torrefazione Italia, and The Coffee Connection. Today, Starbucks operates in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, and Asia with about 32,000 stores worldwide.