Gordon Bowker is an American entrepreneur. He began as a writer and went on to co-found Starbucks with

Jerry Baldwin Gerald Baldwin is an American businessman. He and two other entrepreneurs, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl, founded Starbucks in Seattle, in 1971. He is a Sonoma Valley vintner, and co-founder of J. Baldwin Wines. Career Jerry Baldwin learned the ...

and

Zev Siegl Zev Siegl (December 28, 1942) is an American keynote speaker and presenter. He co-founded Starbucks, with Gordon Bowker and Jerry Baldwin, in 1971, and served as a director of the company during its first decade. Early life Zev Siegl was born ...

. He was later a co-owner of Peet's Coffee & Tea and

Redhook Ale Brewery The Redhook Ale Brewery is a beer brewery operating out of Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in Seattle in 1981 by Paul Shipman and Gordon Bowker, and is currently owned by Portland, Oregon-based Craft Brew Alliance. Its flagshi ...

Biography

Following the death of his father in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Bowker was raised by his mother in Ballard and

Burien, Washington Burien ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound. As of the 2020 census, Burien's population was 52,066, which is a 56.3% increase since incorporation in 1993. An annexation in 2010 ...

. He graduated from

O'Dea High School O'Dea High School is a Catholic all boys high school founded in 1923 and is located in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. The school is named after Edward John O'Dea who was bishop of Seattle when the school was built. O'Dea is a part of the Ar ...

in Seattle. From 1960 to 1965, Bowker attended the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

, where he was roommates with Baldwin. Bowker dropped out eight credits away from graduation. In 1968, Bowker wrote educational film scripts for a division of King Broadcasting while making freelance contributions for ''Seattle'' magazine. There he met Terry Heckler and the pair formed advertising agency Heckler Bowker. Bowker met David Brewster at the magazine, years later funding the launch of Brewster's ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976. The newspaper ...

'' and writing restaurant and hospitality reviews under the pen name Lars Henry Ringseth. In 1971, Bowker, Baldwin and Siegl opened the first Starbucks near

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Pug ...

. In 1984, Starbucks acquired Peet's Coffee & Tea. In 1987, Bowker and Baldwin sold Starbucks to

Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who served as both chairman and CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and as interim CEO since 2022. Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics baske ...

and a group of investors. Bowker then left the coffee business but later served on Peet's board of directors from 1994 to 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowker, Gordon Businesspeople in coffee Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Starbucks people University of San Francisco alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American food company founders Directors of Starbucks