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Michelle Burns is executive vice president of Global Coffee, Tea and Cocoa for Starbucks. In this role Michelle drives the company’s strategy for delivering a diverse portfolio of high-quality, ethically sourced coffee, tea and cocoa to partners and customers around the world. She leads a global team of industry experts responsible for sourcing, developing and roasting coffee; advancing coffee R&D and innovative farming practices; developing and executing programs, initiatives and partnerships to support Starbucks people and planet positive goals thru the lens of farmers and coffee, tea and cocoa communities; and driving partner and customer engagement, education and experiences to bring coffee storytelling to life – all with the aspiration of ensuring a sustainable future of coffee for all.

Michelle is a 26-year Starbucks partner, with much of her career focused on business development and relationship management, driving strategic retail relationships across numerous segments through licensing and foodservice channels. She previously led the Branded Solutions team and has been a key member of the Starbucks Channel Development and Licensed Stores leadership teams.

Contributing more broadly to Starbucks culture, she is the executive sponsor for the Starbucks Women’s Impact Network (WIN) and also serves on the board of The Starbucks Foundation. Outside of the company, Michelle is a member of the Women’s Foodservice Forum and serves on the Board of Directors for FareStart and the National Coffee Association.

Prior to joining Starbucks, Michelle worked in sales and distribution in the Natural Foods Industry where she first found her passion for coffee. After an expedition to the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard Norway in 2018 and her many conversations with farmers around the world over the course of her career, that passion has grown to include a desire and sense of responsibility to care for the future of our food supply and the many people who grow it.

Michelle has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from The University of Iowa.