CostCo Wholesale announced Oct. 18 that its current president and COO, Ron Vachris will be taking up the role of CEO, starting Jan. 1, 2024.

On that date, longtime chief executive Craig Jelinek will be stepping down, as the succession is part of a long established plan. 

Jelinek became CEO in 2012, taking over for one of the firm’s co-founders, Jim Senegal. The company’s stock has increased five-fold during his tenure.

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“Costco has a very strong culture and a deep bench of management talent,” Jelinek says. Vachris became  vice president  and COO for the company’s merchandising division in  mid-2016, among other roles in  40 years at CostCo.

“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,” Jelinek adds.