Kalen Holmes joined Starbucks in November 2009 as executive vice president, Partner Resources. She brings a passion for serving the more than 120,000 Starbucks partners (employees) worldwide as leader of Starbucks global human resources organization and strategy. Kalen reports to Howard Schultz, chairman, president and chief executive officer, and is a member of Starbucks senior leadership team.

Prior to joining Starbucks, Kalen was HR General Manager for the Entertainment and Devices division at Microsoft in Redmond, Wash. She was with Microsoft for six years, also holding leadership roles with Microsoft’s Server and Tools division and Corporate Staff businesses, and had HR responsibility for the company’s development centers in Israel and India.

Kalen has served in a variety of industries, including high-tech, energy, pharmaceuticals and global consumer sales. As an HR leader, she has managed multiple geographies and diverse business units throughout her career, at companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and PepsiCo.

Kalen holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas and a master’s degree and doctorate in industrial/organization psychology from the University of Houston. She serves on the executive board for the Center for Human Resource Management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is on the board of directors for the YWCA King and Snohomish counties.