An Update from Mark Brown on Opportunities to Grow at Starbucks
June 29, 2026
This is an update from Mark Brown, svp of talent and inclusion.
Starbucks is, and always has been, a people company. With our Values at our core, Starbucks success begins with our partners (employees). It’s why we offer the best job in retail, with industry-leading benefits and unparalleled opportunities for partner growth – within Starbucks or wherever their journey takes them next.
Investing in our partners
Since launching our Back to Starbucks plan, we’ve made bold investments to elevate the partner experience because when our partners grow, Starbucks grows.
In 2024, to prioritize clear pathways for partner growth, we set out to hire internally for 90% of our retail leadership roles within three years. Since then, we’ve expanded leadership pathways, like the new coffeehouse coach position, and added even more opportunities to learn, like the Next Leadership Academy.
These efforts help shape and inspire strong teams, make career growth more attainable, build a culture of performance in our coffeehouses and enable our partners to deliver joy and connection to customers every day.
Update on our progress
We’re a little more than halfway through our three-year timeline for our 90% internal promotion goal. We have grown our internal promotion rate over the last year to 85%. We still have more progress to make, but it’s clear that strong, stable leadership in our coffeehouses is unlocking partner growth, improving customer experiences and driving more consistent performance.
Continued commitment to opportunity for every partner
To continue to create opportunities for each of our partners, we are committed to ensuring fair and competitive hiring, promotion, mentoring, training and development practices. We select the most qualified candidate for every role or opportunity without regard to race, sex, religion or any other characteristics protected by law. For more information, please see our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Thank you for all you do to make Starbucks a welcoming, inclusive place where all partners are respected, supported in their growth, and able to bring their best – and where our coffeehouses make customers and communities feel valued every day.
An update from Mark Brown on Belonging at Starbucks
October 29, 2024
This is an update from Mark Brown, svp of talent and inclusion.
Starbucks is, and always has been, a people company. With belonging at our core, we work every day to create an environment where everyone is welcome.
Our progress against our 2025 aspirations
We are committed to building a more inclusive, equitable, accessible and diverse Starbucks. In 2020, we set an aspiration that by 2025 we would expand opportunities for everyone and meaningfully improve gender, racial and ethnic diversity among our U.S. partners.
We are encouraged by our progress and as we reach the 2025 milestone, we want to share an update. Women now make up 71.9% of our U.S. retail partners and 55.2% of our U.S. corporate partners. We also made progress on the racial and ethnic diversity of Starbucks in the U.S., with diverse partners now representing more than 51.9% of our retail team and more than 37.9% of our corporate roles. We made less progress in our manufacturing teams, which remains an area of opportunity for our work.
To better foster an inclusive culture, we focused on initiatives like:
- Working to reach a broader pool of candidates, prioritizing inclusivity in our recruitment and in partner engagement.
- Establishing and expanding our mentorship program to make valuable guidance and networking opportunities available to all partners.
- Remaining focused on addressing barriers impeding equal pay for equal work.
- Strengthening our partner networks. More than 11,000 partners are actively enrolled in Partner Networks, which create moments of connection and contribute to the success of our partners and our company.
We’ve gained valuable insights and are committed to continuing initiatives and programs like these.
Our current workforce diversity data can be found here and we will continue to regularly report on our progress.
Looking forward: Creating career growth opportunities for all partners
With the expiration of our 2025 aspiration and as our Fiscal Year 2025 begins we’re looking to the next chapter of our work: we’re setting a new goal. We want Starbucks to offer the best job in retail and be a great place to build a career for all of our partners. Our goal is that within three years, we will hire internally for 90% of our retail leadership roles.
As Sara Trilling and Sara Kelly shared, this will create career opportunities for all of our partners, providing a clearer path to management and leadership for thousands of people. It will also help ensure that our retail leadership naturally reflects the diverse experiences of our green apron partners.
Ensuring that partners are ready and able to step into leadership roles at all levels will require a continued commitment to training, mentorship, and development. We are committed to doing this work and sharing our progress as we go.
TO: North America Store Managers and above
FROM: Sara Trilling and Sara Kelly
Dear partners,
As we get back to Starbucks, we must refocus on what has always set us apart — a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather, and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas.
Investing in your journey, as leaders, is how we’ll have the greatest impact. Today we’re making two important announcements:
We will host a Leadership Experience conference for store managers and above in 2025.
We know the power of in-person connection. We haven’t met as a group since 2019, and we’re excited to bring our North America retail leaders together again in 2025 to help us get “back to Starbucks.” Your role is critical, and we want to make sure we are all working together. The event will include training, development, and opportunities to connect. We’re working to make it great. Stay tuned for more!
We’re committed to career development and are setting a goal to hire internally for 90% of our retail leadership roles, from shift supervisor roles on up.
Today between 59% and 83% of our promotions are internal, depending on role and level. We’re setting a new goal of hiring internally for 90% of all our retail leadership roles within three years. We want to create more meaningful career opportunities for you and your teams with a clear path to management and leadership. That means an increased focus on internal development, training and mentorship so that we can promote from within more often.
Today’s announcements reinforce our commitment to our retail partners and to making Starbucks a great place to work for every partner. Core to this is our continued commitment to belonging. We’ll lead with three principles:
- Fostering an inclusive, equitable, accessible, and diverse workplace where all perspectives are valued.
- Ensuring fair and competitive hiring practices that encourage opportunities for all.
- Prioritizing inclusivity in hiring and leadership support.
Our journey continues.
Sara Trilling, evp, president, North America
Sara Kelly, evp, chief partner officer