Howard’s journey took him from a working-class neighborhood to a scholarship at Northern Michigan University, and later to working at Xerox. He discovered Starbucks when it was just a small coffee bean shop in Seattle. Inspired by Italian coffee culture, he envisioned turning it into a warm, community-centered café experience. After initially facing rejection, he raised money and acquired the company. Under his leadership, Starbucks became a global lifestyle brand with thousands of stores and a focus on employee benefits—a rare move in corporate America at the time.