Michael K. Kobori

Michael Kobori is a global business executive. He served as Starbucks first Chief Sustainability Officer and led sustainability and human rights at Levi Strauss & Co., for many years. He has served as a Board Director of Bunge, Global SA.  Michael is currently a Board Director at Avalo, an AI-powered plant breeding startup, Advisor to the Founder of Gaeastar, a circular economy startup, and Strategic Advisor to NationSwell, a community of cross-sectoral social impact leaders. Earlier in his career, he held a number of positions at The Asia Foundation.

Michael is a member of the U.S.-Japan Council. He has served on the USDA’s Cotton Board, UN Better Work Program, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Better Cotton Initiative, and the Levi Strauss Foundation board. 

Michael received his Masters’ Degree in Public Policy from the University of California at 

Berkeley, where he also received his undergraduate education in Asian Studies and Psychology. He spent a year at International Christian University in Tokyo and studied sustainable finance at Oxford University.