Costco President and CEO Coming to SU

Interested in learning more about Costco Wholesale? Here’s your chance as the company’s President and CEO Ron Vachris will be on campus for a talk on the “Importance of Culture.”

Vachris, who is the latest guest of the Albers Executive Speaker Series, will give his talk on February 19, 5:30–6:30 p.m. in Pigott Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Here's a little more about Vachris, who exemplifies Costco’s commitment to growing talent from within:

• In 1982, Vachris started as a forklift driver at Price Club, which merged with Costco in 1993, and worked his way up through the company over the years becoming CEO in January 2024.
• Along the way he held several management positions including warehouse manager in both Colorado and Arizona. He was promoted to Vice President of Operations in the San Diego Region in 1999, before moving to Washington state in 2010 and being promoted to Senior Vice President of the Northwest Region.
• In August 2015, Jeff Brotman, who started Costco Wholesale with Jim Sinegal, asked Vachris to become the vice president of real estate development, giving him experience in working on international and domestic new markets and expansion. Shortly after, then-CEO Craig Jelinek asked Vachris to oversee buying for Costco and he became the Executive Vice President of merchandising in July 2016. In February 2022, Costco’s Board of Directors appointed Vachris to the position of President and COO and elected him to the board.

Learn more about this event and the Albers Executive Speaker Series.