When you try to be somebody else, people see right through that.
Ron Vachris on leading in his own style.
Speaker
Ron Vachris
Ron began his career in 1982 with the Price Company in the Phoenix, Arizona market. Ron held several management positions in operations before being promoted to Warehouse Manager in Colorado in 1992. After 7 years as a Warehouse Manager in both Colorado and Arizona, Ron was promoted to Vice President of Operations in the San Diego Region in 1999. In 2010, Ron moved to Washington where he was promoted to Senior Vice President of the Northwest Region. August 2015, Ron started in the Real Estate department, working on International and Domestic New Markets and Expansion. Shortly after, Ron became the Executive Vice President of merchandising in July 2016. In February 2022, Costco’s Board of Directors appointed Ron to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer. He was also elected to the Board of Directors. In January 2024, Ron became the third Chief Executive Officer of Costco Wholesale.
Moderator
Brett Hart
Brett J. Hart is president of United. In this role, Brett is responsible for United’s global operations – flight, technical and network operations as well as inflight services and safety. In addition, he leads the company’s external-facing functions including the government affairs, regulatory, corporate communications, advertising, market and community innovation, legal, global community engagement and environmental sustainability teams. He also oversees business-critical functions such as the corporate real estate, human resources and labor relations teams. Previously, Brett served as executive vice president and chief administrative officer for United, where he oversaw the company’s legal and environmental affairs; corporate security; corporate real estate worldwide; government affairs; community affairs; and international, regulatory and policy matters for the airline. Prior to joining United in 2010, Brett was executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Sara Lee Corporation, where he directed global legal operations for the corporation. After joining Sara Lee in 2004 as assistant general counsel, Brett held positions of increasing responsibility including deputy general counsel and global compliance officer. Before joining Sara Lee, Brett was a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago. Prior to that, he served as special assistant to the general counsel at the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C. Brett received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and English from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. He is married and has three sons.
