Editor’s Note: The David Eccles School of Business is celebrating Black History Month by sharing the successes of Black business leaders who have made big impacts in the business world.
Rosalind Brewer is the current COO of Starbucks and a member of the Starbucks Board.
“You can and should set your own limits and clearly articulate them,” she said. “This takes courage, but it is also liberating and empowering, and often earns you new respect.”
Before entering the professional world, she earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Spelman College in Atlanta and attended Wharton’s Advanced Management Program and Stanford University’s Directors’ College.
She has earned several professional successes, including previously serving as President and CEO of Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart. In 2012, she became the first African American woman to lead a division of Walmart.
In addition to her work at Starbucks, she chairs the Board of Trustees at Spelman College and is a former director of Lockheed Martin and Molson Coors Brewing Company.