Costco will replace departing CEO Craig Jelinek with Ron Vachris, who began with the retailer as a forklift driver more than four decades ago and is currently its President and COO. As part of a longstanding succession plan, Vachris will take the CEO title on Jan. 1, 2024; Jelinek will remain with Costco through April 2024 in an advisory role.
“Costco has a very strong culture and a deep bench of management talent,” said Jelinek in a statement. “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.”
The retailer also announced a quarterly cash dividend of $1.02 per share of common stock, payable Nov. 17, 2023. In May 2023 Costco delayed a planned membership fee hike, citing inflation’s impact on consumers as well as its growing member base.
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