Sara Trilling — Senior Vice President of Food Category & Innovation at Starbucks

Ms. Sara Trilling serves as Senior Vice President of Food Category and Innovation at Starbucks Corporation. Ms. Trilling is responsible for continuing to drive the U.S. Food Category while also building for the future growth of the platform. This includes expanding breakfast offerings, defining and launching an enhanced lunch program and building food capabilities across the organization. She joined Starbucks in 2002 and is known for driving positive business results and developing diverse teams of leaders. She began her Starbucks career in the Creative Studio where she focused on innovative global retail concepts. She transitioned to Store Development to lead project management for design and development. She then accepted the assignment to lead Global Design and Architecture before serving as regional vice president of Retail Operations 2008. In this role, she was instrumental in increasing profitability and turning around the Florida business. In California, she served as vice president and general manager, Evolution Fresh from 2011 to 2013. As general manager, she led the integration within Starbucks, restaged and re-launched the brand, developed the natural channel and expanded the brand nationally across premium grocery outlets. Prior to joining Starbucks, she worked in the marketing and design industry in account and project management. Ms. Trilling holds a bachelor's degree in religious studies, with a minor in ethnic studies from the University of Oregon. She serves on the YWCA Seattle King Snohomish board of directors.