Zev Siegl
Born (1942-12-28) December 28, 1942 (age 81)
Detroit, Michigan, United States
Occupation(s)Businessman, speaker, presenter
Known forco-founder of Starbucks
SpouseRobin Siegl

Zev Siegl (born December 28, 1942) is an American keynote speaker and presenter. He co-founded Starbucks, with Gordon Bowker and Jerry Baldwin, in 1971, and served as a director of the company during its first decade.[1]

Early life

Zev Siegl was born on December 28, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan[2] to a Jewish family.[3][4] His father, Henry Siegl (1911–1997), was a concert violinist who, starting in 1956, served as the concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for 26 years. Siegl grew up in New York before moving to Seattle in 1956.[5][6] His mother, Eleanor Shapiro Siegl (1917–1996), was an educator and founder of The Little School,[7] now located on a campus in Kirkland, Washington.

Career

In March 1971, Siegl, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker established Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, Washington.[8] Siegl, a former public school history teacher, was the company's first paid employee.[9] Siegl often mentions in his public talks that Starbucks wouldn't have been what it is today without the early mentorship they received from Alfred Peet, who at the time was running an already successful coffee stores chain.[10] Following a decade as vice president and a director, Siegl left Starbucks, which had expanded to dominate the gourmet coffee trade in Seattle, with six Seattle-area stores and a wholesale business.

Siegl is the founder of several other small businesses, including Quartermaine Coffee Roasters,[11] in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington, DC.

In 2004, Siegl joined the federally funded Washington Small Business Development Center where he served as lead advisor until 2012.[12] While with the WSBDC he worked directly with more than 500 individual entrepreneurs and SMEs.

Since 2013, Siegl has been sharing the entrepreneurship insights based upon his accumulated experience by serving as a keynote presenter at major entrepreneurship and business conferences worldwide (Kuwait City,[13] Santiago,[14] Kuala Lumpur,[15] Johannesburg, Warsaw,[16] Mexico City,[17] etc. ). Zev has also given virtual talks for large audiences of more than 10,000 attendees and has spoken for major corporations like IBM.[18]

Siegl also mentors MBA candidates at the two large universities located in Seattle, The Foster School of Business at The University of Washington and The Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University,[19] and he coaches selected first-time entrepreneurs.[20]

Personal life

Siegl lives in Seattle, Washington. He is married to an artist, Robin Siegl.[21]

References

  1. ^ Bearne, Suzanne (2016-12-09). "Starbucks co-founder: 'We thought we'd have a couple of stores'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  2. ^ CHILCOTE, LEE (2014-10-09). "visit to cleveland 'lit my fire,' says starbucks co-founder". .freshwatercleveland.com. Issue Media Group. Retrieved 2019-01-09. Siegl, who was born in Detroit and has a bit of a Rust Belt soul
  3. ^ Sandy Rashty (Feb 21, 2014). "Mr Start-up spills the beans on Starbucks' success — and defends tax avoidance row". The JC.
  4. ^ The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. "The Jewish Community of Seattle".
  5. ^ "Starbucks: The Early Years".
  6. ^ Johansson, Martin K. (2017-05-24). "Your Symphony, Your Legacy: Patricia Tall-Takacs". seattlesymphony.org/. Seattle Symphony. Retrieved 2019-01-09. We sat in the front row, and Henry Siegl was the concertmaster
  7. ^ Altshul Helfgott, Ph.D, Esther (2010-01-12). "Siegl, Eleanor (1917-1996), Educator". HistoryLink.org. HistoryLink. Retrieved 2019-01-09. Eleanor Siegl was the founder of The Little School, one of the first pre-schools in Seattle
  8. ^ Farr, Sheila (2017-02-15). "Starbucks: The Early Years". HistoryLink.org. HistoryLink. Retrieved 2019-01-09. When Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Zev Siegl opened Starbucks in a rented storefront near Seattle's Pike Place Market on March 30, 1971, they had little business experience and hardly any cash
  9. ^ Bussing-Burks, Marie (2009). Starbucks. Santa Barbara, CA, USA: ABC-CLIO/Greenwood. p. 13. ISBN 978-0313364587.
  10. ^ "Interview with Starbucks Co-founder Zev Siegl | Aurum Bureau". Aurum Speakers Bureau. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  11. ^ Lepro, Elizabeth (2015-01-15). "Starbucks co-founder speaks to students for Innovation Week". pittnews.com. The University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  12. ^ "Serving up crepes and conviviality | WSU News | Washington State University". WSU News. 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  13. ^ CHILCOTE, LEE (2014-10-09). "visit to cleveland 'lit my fire,' says starbucks co-founder". .freshwatercleveland.com. Issue Media Group. Retrieved 2019-01-09. I speak to audiences of young entrepreneurs worldwide; Russia, Kuwait, the UK and Cleveland, too.
  14. ^ "Zev Siegl, fundador de Starbucks: "La responsabilidad social es clave para tener un negocio exitoso"". eldinamo.cl. El Dínamo. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  15. ^ Lokman, Tasnim (2017-10-16). "Pushing Malaysian brands on the global market". nst.com.my. Media Prima Group. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  16. ^ Percy, Rosie. "The Business Insider Trends Festival is the 'most important business conference in Europe.' 2019's event is fast approaching: meet the speakers joining this year's panel". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  17. ^ "Los emprendedores 'rule'". www.milenio.com (in Mexican Spanish). 13 September 2018. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  18. ^ "Zev Siegl Speaker Bureau & Speaking Fee | Aurum Bureau". Aurum Speakers Bureau. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  19. ^ "ALBERS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS". seattleu.edu. Seattle University. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  20. ^ "Starbucks Co-founder | Small Business Consultant | Seattle WA | Zev Siegl". www.zevsiegl.com. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  21. ^ "Robin Siegl". seattleartmuseum.org. Seattle Art Museum. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
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