Michelle Gass recently returned from leading a round-table meeting of a dozen Starbucks store managers in Paris. Next week, she visits the Middle East. The week after that, Russia.

It’s been a whirlwind 50 days in her new post, with no end in sight.

The Lewiston High School graduate is in charge of one-third of the world for Starbucks.

Her turf: Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with 20,000 employees in 32 countries, 1,700 stores where 21 languages are spoken.

Gass, 43, said in a phone interview from her new office that she starts each day between 4:30 and 5 a.m. with a Starbucks VIA Ready Brew and a run.

“The Maine work ethic is still deep inside me,” she said. “The humility and humbleness, too, of Maine. One of the things I strive to be is a very approachable leader, a real person. I want everybody to feel very comfortable that they can talk to me about everything.”

Born and raised in Lewiston, Gass graduated in 1986 as class valedictorian. Her parents, Claire and Bob Petkers, still live here.

She studied chemical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she interned at Procter & Gamble. After college, Gass worked for P&G, launching products such as Baking Soda Crest and Crest for Kids toothpaste varieties.

“Even though I was in a very safe and great place at P&G, it felt like there was something else bigger out there calling,” Gass said. “And surely there was, little did I know, a coffee company called Starbucks.”

She’s been with Starbucks for 15 years, starting as the marketing manager for Frappachino. According to a profile in Forbes Magazine last week, “Starbucks’ Secret Weapon,” Gass was behind the domed lid, whipped cream, green straw and drizzle that helped grow Frappuchino to a $2.5 billion line.

When she began with the company, Starbucks had fewer than 1,000 stores in three countries. It’s now in 50-plus countries with 17,000 stores and she is Europe/Middle East/Africa president. (Starbucks’ two other regions: the Americas and Asia-Pacific.)

Gass spent the past two years growing the Seattle’s Best brand. She moved the family from Seattle to London for the new job.

“Every step along the way has felt like the right thing at the right time and just built on the journey I’ve had,” she said.

Her husband, Scott, and their children, Megan, 12, and Will, 8, are having fun settling into the city. She said she tries to make it back home every year or so.

“I think the nostalgic thing about Maine I miss, growing up, we spent the summers on Thompson Lake (in Otisfield),” Gass said. “Our last vacation, my husband and I rented a camp on Thompson Lake and had family coming in and out throughout the week. That was really special.”

Gass said she enjoys being innovative and credited her engineering education for a lot of good lessons in problem-solving. She still does taste-testing in her new role, only not as much as before. After that morning run and time with the family, Gass goes to the office each day with an Americano.

“Usually by midday I’m switching to tea, and my favorite of late is Vanilla Rooibos, which is absolutely off the charts,” she said. “I probably drink three or four cups of that a day.”

Ultimately, it’s not her palate that matters, but the customers’, Gass said. She likes hearing what they and Starbucks’ employees, referred to as partners, have to say.

“No matter where you go, there’s a level of awareness and love of this brand,” Gass said. “People are waiting for Starbucks to arrive.”

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This story was updated at 8:59 a.m.