James "Jim" Donald is an American businessperson. He is formerly the president and chief executive officer of Starbucks.[1] He is the current President and CEO of Haggen Food & Pharmacy.[2] In February 2011 it was announced that controlling interest in Haggen, Inc. was sold to Comvest Group. Jim Donald will step down from his position as CEO and president but will remain with the company in an advisory capacity.[3]
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Donald started work as a 16-year-old bag boy at a Tampa, Florida Publix chain store. By age 19 he was assistant manager of an Albertsons chain, owned a house and was earning more than his schoolteacher father. [4] He rose through the ranks at Albertsons, constantly being relocated to struggling stores due to his reputation for successful turnarounds. [5] In 1991 Donald's reputation reached Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, who personally flew to Phoenix to convince Donald to run Wal-Mart's new grocery division. In three years, Donald grew Wal-Mart's fledgling grocery division from 6 stores to 146. [4]
From 1994 to 1996 he served as president of Safeway's 130-store eastern division, and bolstered his reputation as a turnaround-leader. [5] Overseeing the $2.5 billion business and more than 10,000 employees, he succeeded in reversing Safeway's four-year trend in declining same-store sales.[6]
In 1996 Donald took over floundering Pathmark, a 143-store chain with valuable real estate but expensive debt. Donald filed Pathmark for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, washing the ailing company of debt, and succeeded in taking the new company public.
Donald joined Starbucks Coffee Company in October, 2002 as president of the North American division, and worked closely with retired CEO Orin Smith and chairman Howard Schultz. During his tenure, Starbucks experienced record financial performance, particularly in North America.
Two years later, on October 12, 2004, Donald was promoted to president and CEO effective March 31, 2005. In his function as CEO, Donald was responsible for all company business operations, supply chain and general administrative functions, and served on the Board of Directors. Donald was tasked with implementation of long-term strategic plans which were in place before he was promoted.
Starbucks same-store sales slowed in 2007, causing the company's stock price to be cut in half, and on January 7, 2008, Donald stepped down as President and CEO. Howard Schultz, Chairman and Founder was asked to return to the position of CEO.
A fulltime worker from the age of 16, Donald's rapid career rise and multiple promotion-related relocations left little time for academics. Nonetheless, he kept at it, enrolling in five colleges over the course of 15 years as he climbed the corporate ladder, ultimately earning a superfluous business degree from Century College in Albuquerque. [4]
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