Pat Callans - Executive Vice President, Administration
Costco
Pat will update us on Costco's business, some leadership changes, as well as the company's new Issaquah office building, on the north side of I-90 in Issaquah.
About the Speaker
Pat grew up in Joliet, Illinois, and is a proud alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and Northwestern University School of Law. After graduating from law school and passing the Illinois bar exam, Pat worked as a lawyer at Winston & Strawn in Chicago.
In 1989, following his fiancée (now wife), Cathy, who worked for Boeing, Pat moved to Seattle, passed the Washington bar exam, and joined the law firm Foster Pepper & Shefelman. He worked on several cases in which the law firm represented Costco, and after the Costco-Price Club merger, Pat became more involved in handling the expanding company’s litigation.
In March 1994, Pat joined Costco in the position of corporate counsel. Responsible for much of the company’s litigation, his role as one of the company’s in-house lawyers continued to expand. Pat became assistant general counsel and an officer of the company in January 2000. In September 2000, Pat left the legal department and joined Costco’s membership/marketing department as VP of executive services.
In March 2007, Pat took over responsibility for operations and buying for Costco Home and Costco Business Centers, as well as the Auburn businesses and the corporate purchasing department. In September 2012, Pat moved to Costco’s human resources department, and in September 2013, he was promoted to SVP of human resources and risk management. In January 2019, Pat was promoted to EVP of administration. He currently is responsible for various departments, including human resources, membership and marketing, construction and purchasing, risk management, flight, community relations, privacy operations, warehouse ops and auditing, and security and Home Office facilities.
In addition to his degrees from Notre Dame and Northwestern, Pat received his executive MBA from Seattle University in 2008. Outside of work, he is active in the lives of his three kids, Jonathan, Matthew and Molly, and enjoys outdoor activities. He has served on the boards of several local nonprofit organizations and is currently chair of the board of trustees of Seattle University, while also serving on the board of directors of the Independent Colleges of Washington.
