Starbucks
Stuart Richards is an experienced technology leader currently serving as the Technology Director for EMEA at Starbucks since June 2025, responsible for technology delivery and relationship management across the region. Prior to this role, Stuart held various positions at Tessiant as an Associate Partner and Director, where a unique blend of advisory and transformation capabilities was offered to retail and consumer leaders. Stuart's tenure at Sainsbury's Digital, Tech and Data as Director of Platform & Future Channels Engineering involved overseeing product and engineering functions while fostering a culture of growth and innovation. Earlier roles at Sainsbury's included Head of Engineering for Infrastructure, Platforms & Workplace, and Head of Technology for Internal IT, focusing on growth through technology solutions. With a foundational career at Halfords and Logica, expertise spans IT strategy, solutions delivery, and systems integration. Stuart earned a Master’s degree in Computer Science and a First Class degree in Economics from the University of Birmingham.
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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.