Title
Chief Community Officer
Company
Starbucks
Bio
Blair Taylor joined Starbucks in July 2012 as Starbucks chief community officer. In this role, he leads Starbucks efforts to help communities thrive through the company’s community, government relations, diversity, and global responsibility efforts. He also serves as a member of the Starbucks Foundation Board of Directors. Prior to joining Starbucks, Blair served as President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League. He is credited with transforming the agency through innovative nation-leading community engagement programs, such as Neighborhoods@Work™, a holistic community reform model. Blair also served as Executive Vice President of College Summit from 2002-2005, a national college access initiative with a track record of nearly doubling the college enrollment rates of low income students. His private-sector experience includes four years as the President and CEO of COI/ICD, a leading retail franchising company focused on low income communities in the U.S. and the Caribbean and more than eight years of leadership with PepsiCo and the IBM Corp. where he held brand marketing, strategy, and executive sales positions. Blair holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he serves as a trustee. He also holds an M.B.A. in marketing and entrepreneurial studies from UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management.