Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz reads as The Visionary because his leadership has always started with imagination rather than operations. He reframed a Seattle coffee retailer as a vehicle for human connection, the third place between home and work, and in doing so reshaped global consumer culture. Even his multiple returns to Starbucks, including the 2022 comeback as interim CEO, were framed as restorations of foundational purpose, a leader steering by story and belief.