Ken Lombard Biography

Kenneth (Ken) T. Lombard has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s top experts on business development. In 2005, he was featured in Newsweek magazine as one of “Ten Big Thinkers for Big Business.” With broad experience that ranges from investment banking, to economic development, to corporate expansion, Lombard most recently served as President of Starbucks Entertainment, a position he held from 2004 to April 2008.

In that position, Lombard provided the vision and strategy for Starbucks Entertainment initiatives. Under his leadership, Starbucks experienced remarkable success across every entertainment platform. The overall revenues in the entertainment division increased over 600 percent during the four years of his tenure. In March 2007, he managed the collaboration with Concord Music in the formation of Starbucks new music label, Hear Music. He also led the national launch of the Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouses, featuring the Hear Music media bars, which enable customers to easily sample and burn songs to CDs. He played a central role in signing record deals for Hear Music with mega stars such as Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor. He also oversaw the launch of Starbucks XM satellite radio music channel.

Lombard negotiated the successful collaboration between Starbucks and AT&T Wi-Fi Service, which delivers Wi-Fi service to more than 7,000 company-operated Starbucks locations across the United States. In addition, he negotiated an exclusive collaboration with Apple iTunes, which resulted in the formation of the Starbucks Entertainment Area on iTunes and the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at Starbucks.

In film, Lombard led the Starbucks collaboration with Lionsgate to market and distribute Akeelah and the Bee. Lombard pioneered Starbucks foray into book sales by offering Mitch Albom’s national bestseller, For One More Day, and Ishmael Beah’s phenomenal memoir, A Long Way Gone, to customers at Starbucks across the US.

One of his most noteworthy contributions during his time at Starbucks Entertainment was the production of the phenomenally successful Starbucks/Concord Records co-produced CD, Ray Charles—Genius Loves Company. The CD was the winner of eight 2005 Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year and Album of the Year.

Prior to joining Starbucks, Lombard served as President of Johnson Development Corporation (JDC) since its inception in 1992 until 2004. His groundbreaking partnership with Earvin “Magic” Johnson has left a legacy of economic improvement within minority communities nationwide. He was instrumental in fulfilling the company’s mission to become one of the nation’s foremost urban development companies. During his tenure as president of JDC, he negotiated numerous partnerships between JDC and the following companies: Starbucks (UCO/Urban Coffee Company), Loews Cineplex Entertainment (Magic Johnson Theatres), T.G.I. Friday’s (Magic Johnson’s T.G.I. Friday’s), Washington Mutual Bank along with the acquisition of Fatburger Hamburger Company. He also established real estate partnerships with Canyon Johnson Urban Fund and Johnson MacFarlane Urban Partners, which invested in real estate assets valued in excess of one billion dollars. These joint ventures brought entertainment complexes, coffee houses, restaurants, and retail centers to minority communities in more than 65 cities and 17 states.

Lombard and Earvin “Magic” Johnson have been frequently recognized for their success in combining fiscally sound business strategies with socially responsible goals and objectives. Lombard has received numerous honors and awards for his professional contributions and civic spirit, including the Initiative for Competitive Inner Cities Award for Urban Development, Brand Week Marketer of the Year, Urban League Individual Spirit Award, National Architecture Association Award, and the 100 Black Men Business and Economic Leadership Award.

An active member of the Los Angeles community, Lombard has served on the Los Angeles Fire Department Commission, the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission, the Metropolitan Water District Board, and the board of the Department of Water and Power, City of Los Angeles, where he presided for two terms as President in 2000 and 2001. He has also served on the board of the Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring (LEARN). He has received numerous awards in recognition of his outstanding commitment and service to the Los Angeles community, including the City of Angels Corporate Award, Los Angeles Business Journal Corporate Leadership Award, Los Angeles Teen Mentoring Inc. Keystone Award, and Business of the Year in 2002.

Prior to creating a partnership with Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Lombard held a number of leadership positions, including serving as Executive Vice President of the Economic Resource Corporation, Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division of the Grubb and Ellis Company, an Associate at Cralin and Company Investment Bank and a partner at the real estate company Market America. He began his career as a Sales Associate for IBM. In addition, Lombard served as a consultant to Carl McCall, who was comptroller of the State of New York from 1993 to 2002.

Lombard has given keynote addresses and participated on panels at universities, professional association meetings, and business forums. His speaking engagements include the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University’s School of Business and Kennedy School of Public Affairs, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the Dean’s Breakfast at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, Book Expo America, the Innovation Forum, International Shopping Center Association Annual Meeting, and the Inner City Economic Forum, among others.

He has been featured in newspapers and news magazines, business and trade publications, and broadcast outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, The Los Angeles Times, Black Enterprise, the Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle), The Los Angeles Business Journal, and the British Broadcast Company (BBC). He also was featured in a cover story in Billboard magazine.

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