(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp Executive Chairman Howard Schultz is stepping away from hands-on management at the global coffee chain, effective June 26, fuelling speculation that the outspoken, liberal-leaning executive will make a U.S. presidential bid.
Schultz, 64, over roughly four decades has built Starbucks into one of the world’s most powerful global brands. Under his leadership, the Seattle-based coffeeshop chain went from 11 cafes to over 28,000 in 77 countries.
He became Starbucks’ executive chairman last year, handing the chief executive job to Kevin Johnson at a time when growth in Starbucks’ dominant U.S. market was showing signs of cooling.
That cooling trend has not abated and some analysts and investors have begun pressing the company to temper new store openings in the United States, where it already has more than 14,000 locations.
Some investors interpreted Monday’s news as a sign that Schultz was finally making an expected move into politics.
“For two years, I have offered that Schultz will seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination ... I still believe so,” said Douglas Kass, founder of hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management Inc, who has a “short” position on Starbucks shares.
In recent years, Schultz has repeatedly denied that he has political ambitions, but he appeared to be more open to the idea in an interview with CNN last week.
Asked specifically about a U.S. presidential run Schultz, said in a New York Times article on Monday: “I intend to think about a range of options, and that could include public service. But I’m a long way from making any decisions about the future.”
Schultz added that he has for some time been
