Jeffrey Brotman | |
---|---|
Born | Jeffrey Hart Brotman September 27, 1942
Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
Died | August 1, 2017
Medina, Washington, U.S. | (aged 74)
Alma mater | University of Washington ( B.A. & J.D.) |
Occupations |
|
Known for | Cofounder and chairman of Costco |
Spouse |
Susan Thrailkill (
m. 1976) |
Children | 2 |
Jeffrey Hart Brotman (September 27, 1942 – August 1, 2017) was an American businessman, investor, lawyer, and philanthropist. Brotman was the cofounder and chairman of Costco Wholesale Corporation.
Brotman was born in a Jewish family in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Pearl and Bernie Brotman. [1] [2] [3] His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from the Kingdom of Romania, now Romania, to Saskatchewan; his parents immigrated to the US and settled in Tacoma. [1] [3] His father was an owner of Seattle Knitting Mills. Along with his uncles, he owned a chain of 18 retail stores in Washington and Oregon named Bernie's. [2] [4]
In 1965, the family moved to Seattle. [2] Brotman graduated from the University of Washington in 1964 with a degree in political science and in 1967 with a J.D. [2] He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at the University of Washington. [5] After school, he and his brother, Michael, founded a women's jeans store named Bottoms; and in the 1980s, they founded the Jeffrey Michael chain of men's clothing stores, which they operated into the 1990s. [2]
In 1982, Brotman cofounded Costco Wholesale Corporation with Jim Sinegal, [6] a protégé of Sol Price, the founder of PriceSmart. [1] He served as chairman from the company's inception until his death, except during a stretch from 1993 to 1994 when he was vice chairman. [7] [8] In 2017, Costco operated 736 warehouse stores. [3]
Brotman was also an early investor in Howard Schultz's Starbucks Corporation. [3]
Brotman served on the boards of several public companies and [9] according to Businessweek magazine, was "connected to 13 board members". [10] [11] He sat on the board of directors of the Million-Dollar Roundtable at the United Way of King County. [12] He also served on the boards of Seafirst Bank, Starbucks, and was a trustee at the Seattle Art Museum. [13] He and his wife Susan donated to numerous causes, especially at the University of Washington, where they funded hundreds of student scholarships. They also endowed the Jeffrey & Susan Brotman Professorship at UW Law School, currently held by Steve Calandrillo.
Brotman was married to Susan Thrailkill, a Montana native and a former retail executive who served on the board of Nordstrom; they had two children, Justin Brotman, an activist and businessman, [14] [15] and Amanda Brotman-Schetritt, a Barnard College graduate who is a businessman working in sustainability, philanthropy, and design. [1] [16] [17] [18]
On August 1, 2017, Brotman died in Medina, Washington at the age of 74. [19] [7] He died in his sleep, possibly due to heart failure. [20] He was a member of Temple Beth El in Tacoma. [3]