Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz steps down

Zlati Meyer | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Starbucks customers hopeful after anti-bias training Starbucks stores around the country shut down for a day of anti-bias training, and these customers weren't bothered a bit.

Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz, who as CEO shepherded the Seattle-based coffee chain into a global heavyweight, is stepping down later this month.

Schultz's 40 years with the company — marked by his proving that people will pay up for coffee and making Frappuccino a household word — will end June 26. His honorary title will be chairman emeritus, according to Starbucks.

He handed over the CEO duties to Kevin Johnson in April 2017.

"Many of you also know that I set out to build a company that my father, a blue-collar worker and World War II veteran, never had a chance to work for," he wrote in a letter to employees. "Together we’ve done that and so much more by balancing profitability and social conscience, compassion and rigor, and love and responsibility."

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Schultz made social conscience a key tenet of the company For example, Starbucks has comprehensive health care, stock ownership and free college tuition, even for part-time staffers. In March, the chain offered up a $10 million challenge to design a compostable coffee cup.

"For years, I’ve had a dream to build a different kind of company, one that has the potential to enhance lives and endure long after I was gone. Thanks to you, my dream has come true," Schultz wrote in the letter addressed to "Starbucks partners — past and present," crafted as he sipped a French press of his favorite coffee, aged Sumatra."

The announcement comes less than two months after Starbucks suffered a major PR nightmare stemming from the arrest of two African-American men at one of the chain's downtown Philadelphia locations. The company apologized repeatedly and reached a financial settlement with them. Both Schultz and Johnson met with the men, and the reputation-tarnishing event spurred the company to close its 8,000-plus company-owned stores in the U.S. and its corporate headquarters on May 29, so as many as 180,000 employees could undergo racial-bias training.

But Schultz's ideology has dipped into the political sphere, too, His outspokenness on issues, such as gay rights and refugees, has fueled speculation that he's looking to run for office, perhaps president.

Starbucks didn't comment about plans that he's seeking elected office. In his letter, he didn't rule out it out, saying, "I’ll be thinking about a range of options for myself, from philanthropy to public service, but I’m a long way from knowing what the future holds."

Schultz said he plans to spend time with his family this summer and write a book about Starbucks' "social impact work and our efforts to redefine the role and responsibility of a public company in an ever-changing society."

Schultz will be making two brief returns to the company when he oversees the opening of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan in September and the New York Roastery in October, according to the company.

"Consumers will not tell the difference," said Nick Setyan, managing director at Wedbush Securities. "The cult of personality is an issue for Starbucks, and it's been for some time. In terms of the next five years and executing near-, medium- and long-term, the vision won't change."

Among the failures during Schultz's tenure was the Race Together campaign, which had employees writing the phrase on coffee cups handed to customers to foster conversations about race relations; its stab at publishing, Joe Magazine; and a coffee-cola hybrid drink called Mazagran, a joint venture with Pepsi.

Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982 as director of operations and marketing when the company had only four stores, according to the Starbucks. He left shortly afterward to try his hand at his own line of II Giornale coffee shops but returned in 1987. He assumed the chairman title in 2000 and became president and CEO in January 2008.

In 1987, Starbucks had 11 stores and today, more than 28,000 in 77 countries. The value of Starbucks stock has gained 21,000% since its 1992 initial public offering, which Schultz oversaw.

Former JC Penney CEO Myron “Mike” Ullman will replace Schultz as executive chairman.

Starbucks has come a long way since it went public 25 years ago Starbucks was founded in 1971 and began with one store in Seattle. Since then it has come a long way and become a global coffee superpower. The company that was founded by three friends that met at university now has 24,000 stores and 238,000 staff across 6 continents and 72 countries. Let's take a look at how Starbucks has changed and expanded over the years. Video provided by TheStreet

Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer