LAHS graduate Kevin Johnson is new president of Starbucks. Courtesy/Starbucks

Los Alamos High School graduate Kevin Johnson has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Starbucks Corporation.

Starbucks made the announcement Thursday with Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz saying that as a member of the board of directors, Johnson has worked closely with him for the past six years as a sounding board and collaborator on many of the strategies the organization is now pursuing.

“Kevin’s deep management experience and technology background will help further propel Starbucks efforts in partner (employee) and customer-facing innovations as we accelerate our global growth agenda,” Schultz said. “I am honored that Kevin is joining Starbucks in this capacity, particularly at this important time for our company, and I am looking forward to working with him and our strongest management team in the company’s 44-year history.”

Johnson will report to Schultz and serve as a member of Starbucks senior leadership team, as well as continue on the Starbucks board of directors. He ceased membership on all Starbucks board committees prior to this appointment.

Johnson graduated from LAHS in 1978 and New Mexico State University in 1981 with a Bachelor in Business Administration. His sister Kerry Hinsch and brother Tim Johnson also grew up in Los Alamos and graduated from Los Alamos High School. Tim still resides in Los Alamos and is an optometrist with Eye Associates of New Mexico.

“I’m very proud of my brother … he has worked extremely hard throughout his career and earned the respect of many,” Tim said. “My parents are great role models and Los Alamos is a unique place to grow up. These things do make a difference in life. My sister has also done amazing things in her career. I’m grateful for what this community has to offer … it’s a wonderful place to raise a family.”

Johnson’s father, Jim Johnson, had a long career at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and his mother, Carol Johnson, had a long career as a pediatric nurse at the Children’s Clinic of Los Alamos. They now live in Gig Harbor near Seattle.

Dave McInroy who works at LANL was a high school and college friend of Johnson’s.

“Kevin is a great guy who has always excelled in anything he put his mind to. He continues to amaze us holding some of the highest corporate executive positions in the country,” McInroy said. “It is rare that we get together that often, but when we do, he still seems like ‘one of the guys’. He comes from a great family with deep roots in Los Alamos, which is no doubt where he gets his balanced and valued work and family ethics. I am really happy for him.”

In Johnson’s new role as president and COO of Starbucks, he will lead the company’s global operating businesses across the Americas, EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa), and China/Asia Pacific, as well as Starbucks supply chain, information technology, and mobile and digital platforms.

Prior to his position at Starbucks, Johnson served as chief executive officer of Juniper Networks, Inc., from September 2008 through December 2013. Before that, Johnson was president of the Platforms Division at Microsoft Corporation and a member of Microsoft’s senior leadership team and held a number of senior executive positions over the course of his 16 years at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft in 1992, he worked for International Business Machine Corp.’s systems integration and consulting business. In 2008, Johnson was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) where he served through the end of 2013.

Johnson resides in Seattle and will be based at the Starbucks Support Center.