At Starbucks, Low Key Vet Plots Course†
Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2008 — For the past two months, Howard Schultz has been the public face of Starbucks Corp.'s effort to turn around its coffee empire.
But the person crafting many of the strategies is a 40-year-old chemical-engineering graduate who was behind the success of Starbucks's Frappuccino line.
Tomorrow , Michelle Gass will sit in one of the front rows at Starbucks's annual shareholders meeting in Seattle while Mr. Schultz stands on stage and unveils fresh details of plans to revive the company. Mr. Schultz is expected to address how Starbucks will reassert its position as the world's coffee authority, reignite what the company calls its emotional attachment with customers and carve out new areas for growth.
Ms. Gass has been Mr. Schultz's right-hand person in developing these ideas since Mr. Schultz retook the chief executive position at Starbucks in January.


