Orin C. Smith (June 26, 1942 – March 1, 2018) was an American businessman who served as president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

(CEO) of

Starbucks Corporation Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...

from 2000 to 2005. He joined Starbucks as vice president and chief financial officer in 1990, becoming president and chief operating officer in 1994, and a director of Starbucks in 1996. He was preceded by Howard Shultz and succeeded by Jim Donald who was himself succeeded by Shultz.

Biography

Prior to joining Starbucks, Smith spent much of his career in

management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultan ...

with Deloitte & Touche. Later he became the Chief Budget Officer for two Governors: Dixy Lee Ray and

Booth Gardner William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...

, followed by service as CFO of two international transportation companies. With Smith onboard first as CFO then COO and finally CEO, Starbucks expanded to more than 10,000 locations worldwide and more than $5 billion in sales. Smith led Starbucks to link coffee production to the protection of

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

s. Smith retired from Starbucks in 2005 and later became a director of

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

and

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

. He was elected independent lead director of The Walt Disney Company on March 13, 2012. He served as chair of the Starbucks Foundation, vice chair of the University of Washington Board of Regents and member of the Conservation International board of directors. Smith graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in 1965 and the Harvard Business School in 1967. Smith was the recipient of many honors and awards, including the highest honor given to graduates of the Harvard Business School and one of Business Week's best managers in 2004.

Personal life

Smith was a resident of Jackson, Wyoming. He was born in Ryderwood, Washington, a logging camp. Soon after he was born, the family moved to

Chehalis, Washington Chehalis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1883, Chehalis was primarily a logging and railroad town, with a shift towards farming in the m ...

. He graduated from W. F. West High School in Chehalis where he grew up. He was a member of the 1960 high school basketball team, the Bearcats, which won the state Class A basketball championship. The local Vernetta Smith branch library in Chehalis, part of the Timberland Regional Library system, bears his mother's name. Smith died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 75.

References

External links

Orin C. Smith
corporate biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Orin 1942 births 2018 deaths American chief executives of food industry companies American chief financial officers American chief operating officers Businesspeople in coffee Directors of The Walt Disney Company Directors of Starbucks Harvard Business School alumni Nike, Inc. people People from Chehalis, Washington University of Washington alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in California