<P> Howard Schultz served as the company's CEO until 2000 . Orin C. Smith was President and CEO of Starbucks from 2001 to 2005 . </P> <P> In January 2008, Schultz resumed his roles as President and CEO after an eight - year hiatus, replacing Jim Donald, who took the posts in 2005 but was asked to step down after sales slowed in 2007 . Schultz aims to restore what he calls the "distinctive Starbucks experience" in the face of rapid expansion . Analysts believe that Schultz must determine how to contend with higher materials prices and enhanced competition from lower - price fast food chains, including McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts . Starbucks announced it would discontinue the warm breakfast sandwich products they originally intended to launch nationwide in 2008 and refocus on coffee, but they reformulated the sandwiches to deal with complaints and kept the product line . </P> <P> As of January 2015, the chief operating officer of Starbucks was Troy Alstead, though at that time he announced he was taking an extended leave of absence of undetermined length . Subsequently, Kevin Johnson was appointed to succeed Alstead as president and COO . </P> <P> In October 2015, Starbucks hired its first Chief Technology Officer, Gerri Martin - Flickinger, to lead their technology team . In April 2017, Schultz became executive chairman of Starbucks with Johnson becoming President and CEO . </P>

How many starbucks are there in the world 2018