Joe Thornton
President, Scooter's Coffee
The Pigeon Has to Go to School
"It is a fun way to teach kids about the power of school and learning."
Joe Thornton joined the Scooter's Coffee leadership team as President in June 2022. With more than 38 years of experience in operations, new store expansion, marketing/branding, employee development, franchising, and store optimization, Thornton has led some of the fastest growth companies over the years, including Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Blockbuster and, most recently, HMSHost.
As a Senior Vice President at Starbucks with responsibility of well over 2,000 stores, he led the drive-thru team at Starbucks with a focus on speed. As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for HMSHost, Thornton led more than 1,500 food and beverage locations in North America, partnered with more than 300 brands and engaged more than 30,000 associates across HMSHost restaurants. At Jamba Juice, Thornton was Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer where he led strong business optimization and sales based on speed, taste and friendliness.
As founder of Vizzionnary Brands, Joe consulted with businesses and authored two books: “The Power of Or: Choosing and Doing What Matters Most,” released in 2020, and “The Hostility of Change: Breaking Through Deep-Seated Barriers,” published in 2021.