Starbucks Corp. said Wednesday that former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been named to its 11-member board.
Gates served as defense secretary from 2006 until June 2011, working under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.
A former president of Texas A&M University, he is currently the chancellor of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
In a brief statement Wednesday, Gates said he was pleased to join the coffee giant's board and noted he has Starbucks to thank for "keeping me caffeinated through many long days and nights during my years in Washington."
Gates joins Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz on the board, as well as such corporate titans as J.C. Penney Co.'s former chief executive and chairman, Myron E. Ullman III.
Starbucks last week reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 19% with strong sales in China and the Americas, though economic troubles in Europe weighed on the coffee chain's business there.
This story first appeared on WSJ.com
Write to Mia Lamar at mia.lamar@dowjones.com
