President, Ron Vachris, has been with Costco for more than 40 years.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, … [+]
Ron Vachris, President and COO of Costco on January 1, 2024 will take over as Chief Executive Officer. He has been COO since February 2022 working closely with Craig Jelinek who will retire on December 31, 2023.
Ron (55) is a Costco veteran. He has 40 years of service in the company, starting as a forklift driver and subsequently worked in every major role relating to Costco’s business operations and merchandising activities. “Costco has a very strong culture and a deep bench of management talent,” said Craig Jelinek. “I have total confidence in Ron and feel that we are fortunate as a company to have an executive of his caliber to succeed me.”
Craig will remain with Costco through April 2024, serving in an advisory role and assisting Ron during the transition. Craig will also continue to serve on the Board of Directors and will stand for reelection at the January 2024 annual meeting.
The company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend on Costco’s common stock of $1.02 per share payable November 17, 2023 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 3rd, 2023.
Costco now operates 861 warehouses which includes 591 in the United States and Puerto Rico.
POSTSCRIPT: Congratulations Ron Vachris. Costco is a leader in warehouse grocery because of strong leadership and care for its associates. During the pandemic management took special care of its front-line associates, and had great pay-back since there was little attrition of co-workers.