Howard Schultz is on a hiring spree to form new team
Mar 18, 2019, 9:06 AM | Updated: 10:23 am
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
In keeping with his recent trend of acting like a presidential candidate without officially running, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is now on a hiring spree for the Howard Schultz Team.
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It’s a team that isn’t blatantly political — it’s basically a marketing department — but has hints of politics.
GeekWire reports that Instagram’s former head of analytics, Mike Develin, has signed on to be Schutlz’s chief analytics officer. GeekWire points out that there is no official statement saying that Develin is working for a political campaign under Schultz. But it does point to Develin’s LinkedIn page which covers his work history and states, “Data is the voice of the people at scale, and what I delight in is figuring out what they are trying to tell us and using that to help make better decisions on their behalf. I’m currently trying to bring that democratic approach to our political system.”
Schultz’s new hire doesn’t stop there. A total of 11 jobs notices for the Howard Schultz Team popped up across Indeed, LinkedIn, and HowardSchultz.com over the weekend. A bulk of the jobs are within the marketing and communications realm, but also security and tech. They include: copywriter, social media manager, media analyst, marketing operations manager, security manager, IT specialist, and business intelligence developer, among others.
They are posted for either in Seattle or SeaTac, and some jobs do hint at some political involvement.
The notice for a copywriter position, for example, states, “First and foremost, you’re a political junkie, committed to improving the world and helping people seek out new experiences and world cultures.” The media analyst posting states: “Are you a news junkie? Interested in politics? HowardSchultz.com is looking for people to monitor the news cycle…”
It should be noted that HowardSchultz.com, while not officially being a political campaign site, is clearly branded as part of a political conversation. It states taglines such as “If you believe both parties are causing dysfunction in Washington,” or “If you don’t feel our government is working well for you,” and “If you feel our nation has become dangerously divided,” then sends the reader to a “join us” page to sign up for a mailing list.
The “join us” page also gauges interest in volunteering with the team, hosting events, and “helping spread the word.” Currently, the only word Schultz is spreading is that of his new book. He has been on a promotional book tour in recent weeks. Schultz has only said that he is considering running for president and has not officially announced a campaign. The potential for a Schultz run has drawn criticism from all sides.
