10 Starbucks operations leaders
Regions of 90 to 120 stores show up in four of these Starbucks operations records: 90+ across Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southern Indiana, 107 in Utah and Arizona, 100+ in San Francisco and 120 over three states. Nine of the ten hold or held Regional Director of Operations titles and three are listed with vice president titles, so the group suits a multi-unit operator working on regional structure, district manager coaching or a rollout across stores.
Professionals to explore
Brad Nielsen
LinkedInExperience: Regional Director of Operations · Starbucks
Brad Nielsen has been Regional Director of Operations for 107 retail Starbucks locations in Utah and Arizona since 2013, with full P&L responsibility as well as all real estate and development activities. Kahala Brands titles came before: Vice President of Corporate Operations (2011–2013) and Vice President of Operations for Cold Stone Creamery (2004–2011), plus Area Manager at Jack in the Box (2001–2003). The real estate responsibility makes Nielsen a fit for questions on opening stores within a region.
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Carla Ruffin
LinkedInExperience: Former Regional Director of Operations, New York Metro · Starbucks
Carla Ruffin describes being an award-winning regional operations director focused on transforming underperforming areas for multi-unit restaurants. At Starbucks, Ruffin was District Manager (2004–2007), Project Manager, Implementation (2007–2009), Regional Director of Operations District Manager (2009–2014) and Regional Director of Operations, New York Metro (2014–2019). The New York Metro role is the one to ask about for questions on a large metro market.
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Catherine Porter
LinkedInExperience: Former Regional Director of Operations · Starbucks
Catherine Porter led a 100+ store urban market in San Francisco and nine District Managers as Regional Director of Operations at Starbucks (2023–2025), stabilizing operations during post-COVID recovery and advancing the market from bottom-quartile performance. Other Starbucks titles were Regional Vice President of Operations (interim) (2022–2023), regional director (2010–2022) and District Operations Manager (2005–2010). Turning around a low-ranked urban market is the clearest topic.
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Jessica Borton
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Operations Implementation · Starbucks
Jessica Borton has been Vice President Operations Implementation at Starbucks since 2025, after Regional Vice President Retail Operations (2023–2025) in Northern California and the PNW and Regional Vice President of Retail Operations, TLA (2022–2023). Before those came Regional Director of Operations (2015–2022) and District Manager (2006–2015). The implementation title points to questions on rolling a new operating standard out across regions.
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Lilia Tuero
LinkedInExperience: Regional Director Of Operations · Starbucks
Lilia Tuero has been Regional Director Of Operations at Starbucks in South Florida since 2020, and held the same title in Seattle from 2012 to 2016. In between came Director Operations Services (2016–2020), and the record also shows Regional Operations Manager (2009–2012) and Regional Operations Services Manager (2007–2009). The same regional job in two markets, plus an operations services role, makes Tuero a fit for comparing how regions differ.
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Mike Ezzo, MBA
LinkedInExperience: Regional Director of Operations · Starbucks
Mike Ezzo leads 9 District Managers overseeing 90+ stores that generate $250M+ in annual sales across Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southern Indiana as Regional Director of Operations at Starbucks since 2024. Before Starbucks came Senior Director Region Operations at Sally Beauty (2023–2024) and GameStop titles of Director of Store Operations (2022–2023), Regional Director (2019–2022) and District Manager (2013–2019), useful for comparing Starbucks regional operations with other store chains.
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Mike Okamoto
LinkedInExperience: Regional Director of Operations · Starbucks
Mike Okamoto's LinkedIn profile says 17.25-year Starbucks operator and Former Director, Regional Operations, Orange County and Hawaii; the current title is Regional Director of Operations in Southern California, since 2025. Other Starbucks titles include Director of Business Operations, U.S. (2022–2025), Regional Vice President (Interim) (2023–2024) and Director, Regional Operations (2017–2022). The U.S. business operations role suits questions on how regional programs are set from the center.
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Stacia Durree
LinkedInExperience: Regional Vice President of Operations · Starbucks
Stacia Durree has held five Starbucks operations titles: District Manager (2014–2019), Regional Operations Coach (2019), Regional Director of Operations (2019–2023), Director of Business Operations (2023–2024) and Regional Vice President of Operations since 2024, a role placed in the Pacific Northwest. That path through district, coaching and regional roles makes Durree a fit for questions on developing district managers into regional leaders.
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Tom Ferguson
LinkedInExperience: Former Senior Vice President, International Operations · Starbucks
As Senior Vice President, International Operations at Starbucks (2018–2022), Tom Ferguson was the primary Starbucks operations executive for market presidents in international markets, handpicked to lead both licensed and company-owned models across 80 markets. Ferguson then served as President Latin America & Caribbean (2022–2025); earlier titles were Senior Vice President, US Retail West Division and US Fraud and P&AP (2014–2018) and Regional Vice President of Operations, Los Angeles & Central California (2010–2014).
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Choose the right perspective
For day-to-day regional questions, pick the setting closest to yours: Mike Ezzo, Brad Nielsen and JP Fesperman describe their current store counts, and Catherine Porter the San Francisco turnaround. Programs across many regions fit Jessica Borton, Stacia Durree or Mike Okamoto, who hold or held implementation or business operations titles, while Tom Ferguson is the one for international, licensed and company-owned models.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How many districts and stores can one regional director cover before store visits and district manager coaching start to suffer?
- 02What does it take to turn around a city market whose stores rank near the bottom on sales and service?
- 03How should a coffee chain decide which international markets to operate as company-owned stores and which to license?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.