In this episode of The Diary of a CFO: Live in Atlanta, I sit down in person with Tiffany Willis.

Tiffany is a global investor relations executive who recently served as Senior Vice President at Starbucks, where she managed nearly $130 billion in market capitalization. She is a Wharton graduate, an Adjunct Professor at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, a CPA, a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and a former Miss Black Georgia USA.

Behind that bio is a story most people would never expect. Tiffany was pregnant at 14, dropped out of school in the 9th grade, and was homeless. She kept her baby's milk on a windowsill because she had no refrigerator.

We talk about what carried her through that chapter and into boardrooms with Howard Schultz and Mellody Hobson. How she transitioned from public accounting into investor relations a ...