Starbucks CEO Joins Groupon Board

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 11, 2011 2:30PM

If you thought Groupon was serious about global domination before, wait until you see what they did now. None other than Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has been elected to the company's Board of Directors. Coincidentally, Maveron LLC, the venture capital company founded by Schultz, made an undisclosed stake in the company, furthering speculation that a Groupon IPO is imminent.

Adding the man who who took McDonald's "billions and billions served" approach and applied it to coffee is a sound move for Groupon, especially since Starbucks has its hands in so much more than just overpriced coffee these days. It's a retail and entertainment juggernaut. Schultz's counsel should also prove wise as Groupon continues its plans to break into the Chinese Market, which, despite those Super Bowl ads, still looks like a go.