Sylvia Arbesu

About Sylvia Arbesu

Sylvia Arbesu is a Vice President–level, bilingual operations and customer experience executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across global consumer brands, regulated environments, and complex, multi-unit operations. She is known for building high-performing teams, developing strong leadership capability, and translating strategy into frontline execution to deliver sustainable growth and exceptional customer experiences.Sylvia currently leads a multi-state licensed business at Starbucks Coffee Company, overseeing more than 200 stores and $100M+ in annual sales. Under her leadership, the region achieved the highest customer experience performance in the U.S. business for six consecutive years, along with consistent year-over-year sales growth. She brings deep expertise in franchise and licensed operations, partner performance, and large-scale transformation in high-growth, high-expectation environments.Earlier in her career, Sylvia spent 14 years with ExxonMobil in senior roles spanning operations, strategy, mergers and acquisitions, logistics, and global human resources, including international leadership across Latin America. She is a people-first leader and trusted partner to operators and cross-functional leaders, recognized for simplifying complex operations, leading change, and developing leaders who deliver consistent results at scale.Scope & Impact Highlights-Multi-unit, multi-state retail leadership-Full P&L ownership:$100M–$250M-Enterprise strategy execution & operating cadence-Customer Experience (CX) & brand excellence-Strategic partnerships & licensee governance-Leader development, succession & bench strength

Experience

1. Director of Operations - Utah, Idaho & Southern Arizona

   Starbucks

   Feb 2018 — Present · Park City, UT, US

   Vice President-level operational leader with full P&L ownership, responsible for multi-state performance across 200+ licensed retail stores generating $100M+ in annual revenue. Led enterprise scale strategy, operational excellence, and customer experience outcomes through 9 senior leaders.Served as VP-equivalent leader, setting regional strategy, annual operating plans, and long-range growth prioritiesDelivered 8–16% year-over-year sales growth for six consecutive yearsAchieved #1 national ranking in customer experience and store operations across major retail partners including Albertsons, Kroger, Target, and HMS HostDelivered the highest customer experience results in company history for six consecutive years, achieving a 15% improvementOptimized enterprise partnerships through governance routines, scorecards, and shared accountabilityActed as senior executive liaison between corporate leaders and external Vice Partner partnersRecognized as a national leader in customer experience for 10 of 13 years at Starbucks

Education

• University of Miami

  Bachelor, Business Administration; International Finance and Marketing

  1993 — 1997

• University of North Carolina Kenan-Flager

  Executive Development to Accelerate Leadership Growth

• Thunderbird School of Global Management

  Executive Education in Leadership & Performance