Craig Jelinek, President and CEO, COSTCO Wholesale Corp.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
12:15-1:45 p.m., Upper Gwinn Commons

This winter, the School of Business, Government, and Economics welcomed Mr. Craig Jelinek, President and CEO of COSTCO as our invited speaker at our Distinguished Speaker Series luncheon. Mr. Jelinek has a long and increasingly significant career in this industry, beginning during his college years in the 1970s in California. He joined COSTCO in 1984 and was elevated to CEO upon the retirement of Jim Sinegal in January 2012. Learn more about our distinguished speaker in this BloombergBusinessweek article titled, Costco CEO Craig Jelinek Leads the Cheapest, Happiest Company in the World.

The Distinguished Speaker Series is an annual event that brings a prominent national or regional business leader to SPU’s School of Business, Government, and Economics. Through this program, decision makers, risk takers, and leaders of the regional and national corporate world share their personal experiences and philosophies with students. Students and faculty receive real-world insight into the issues they regularly explore in the classroom.

SPONSORSHIP PROVIDED BY THE BURTON AND RALENE WALLS DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES ENDOWMENT
This endowment was established with Seattle Pacific University in 2013 to further the entrepreneurial spirit and knowledge of SPU students. Burton is an alumnus of SPU with a major in business. His uncle, Paul Walls, served SPU as a member of the Board of Trustees for 31 years. His father, F. Wesley Walls, also served SPU with distinction for 38 years in various capacities, including founding director of the School of Business. Burton and Ralene are longtime supporters of SPU. Their hope is that this endowment will assist SPU in its mission of engaging the culture and changing the world.

See past speakers.