I also bring peers or potential business partners outside of IT, with whom I have a strong relationship, to interview candidates for VP-level positions. My peers and I have a pretty good ability to take off our "discipline hat" and put on our "fiduciary hat" to interview through that lens.

How do you determine whether a candidate has the needed skills and will be a good cultural fit with your IT group and with Starbucks as a whole?

It is different for each position. Some roles require deep experience in a particular discipline, a proven track record of accomplishing difficult tasks and leading large teams. If you are interviewing for a director or vice president of the data warehouse, for example, you have to have a pretty good background in understanding the terminology of data warehousing.

There are also roles that are broader in nature. For example, we recently hired a vice president of emerging platforms and strategy. In that case, I am not seeking a particular discipline. I am looking for a broad leadership skillset and for how fluent the candidate is with emerging trends in the market. I'll want to know how well the candidate can introduce new concepts and technologies into a large IT organization.

Do you ever interview candidates for executive-level positions outside of IT?