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Costco’s longtime CEO Craig Jelinek is stepping down from his role. He will be replaced by Ron Vachris, who will take his spot from January 1, 2024. The news was revealed by the company, which stated that Jelinek would be relieved from his role after more than a decade of service.
Furthermore, the press release by Costco also mentioned that Ron was previously the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and has been with the brand for 40 years. Costco talked about his current role, sharing that Ron Vachris currently handles the business operations part, along with the merchandising activities. Additionally, Craig Jelinek shared his thoughts about Ron replacing him in another two months:
“Costco has a very strong culture and a deep bench of management talent. 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."
Costco also revealed that the decision to promote Ron Vachris was a unanimous one, as he was selected by voting of the board members. At the same time, the company revealed that Craig will be on the advisory panel with the other board of directors till April 2024.
As per Wall Street Journal, Ron Vachris, who is now 58 years old, was 18 years old when he joined Costco, and, at the time, he was in the Arizona office. It then took him more than 30 years to move up the ladder before he was made the COO. After a decade of serving in the role, he is now being made the CEO, as he is all set to replace the current CEO, Craig Jelinek.
Ron Vachris also served as Costco’s General Manager for 10 years before becoming the COO
There is no denying that Ron Vachris has a longstanding career with Costco. Vachris, who first started out in a junior role, was made the Regional Operations Manager and relocated to San Diego. Crunch Base also stated that he was then made the Assistant General Manager in Colorado. After serving the position for 10 years, he was elected as the VP of the San Diego region.
Furthermore, having served the position for a few years, he was then made General Manager, and he relocated to Denver. He was also the company’s SVP and GM of the Northwest Region.
On the other hand, Ron completed his education at Glendale Community College of California, majoring in business. During his college years, as per Crunch Base, he worked part-time at the Price Club’s Phoenix outlet.
On the personal front, Ron is married to Kim, and the duo have three kids together, two sons and a daughter. One of Ron’s sons is reportedly undergoing his graduation from Northern Arizona State University. His other son is currently pursuing photojournalism at the Brooks Institute, while his daughter, who is the youngest, is currently attending high school.
The news of Ron Vachris becoming the CEO of Costco comes just after the company revealed that they are now expanding and would be trying their hands in healthcare, announcing their partnership with online health marketplace, Sesame. The company also revealed that Ron’s leadership will help them immensely in the new sector too.
