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Jeffrey Brotman

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(Redirected from Jeff Brotman) American attorney, entrepreneur, and executive from Washington
Jeffrey Brotman
BornJeffrey Hart Brotman
(1942-09-27)September 27, 1942
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 2017(2017-08-01) (aged 74)
Medina, Washington, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Washington (BA, JD)
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • investor
  • philanthropist
  • lawyer
Known forCofounder and chairman of Costco
Spouse Susan Thrailkill ​(m. 1976)​
Children2

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.

Early life and education

Brotman was born in a Jewish family in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Pearl and Bernie Brotman. His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from the Kingdom of Romania, now Romania, to Saskatchewan; his parents immigrated to the US and settled in Tacoma. 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.

In 1965, the family moved to Seattle. Brotman graduated from the University of Washington in 1964 with a degree in political science and in 1967 with a J.D. He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at the University of Washington.

Career

After college and law 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.

In 1982, Brotman cofounded Costco Wholesale Corporation with Jim Sinegal, a protégé of Sol Price, the founder of PriceSmart. 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. In 2017, Costco operated 736 warehouse stores.

Brotman was also an early investor in Howard Schultz's Starbucks Corporation.

Philanthropy

Brotman served on the boards of several public companies and according to Businessweek magazine, was "connected to 13 board members". He sat on the board of directors of the Million-Dollar Roundtable at the United Way of King County. He also served on the boards of Seafirst Bank, Starbucks, and was a trustee at the Seattle Art Museum. 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.

Personal life

Brotman married Susan Thrailkill, a Montana native and a former retail executive who served on the board of Nordstrom. They had two children, Justin Brotman, who became an activist and businessman, and Amanda Brotman-Schetritt. She is a Barnard College graduate who is a businessman working in sustainability, philanthropy, and design.

On August 1, 2017, Brotman died in Medina, Washington at the age of 74. He died in his sleep, possibly due to heart failure. He was a member of Temple Beth El in Tacoma.

References

  1. ^ Roberts, Sam (August 2, 2017). "Jeff Brotman, Founder of Retail Juggernaut Costco, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
  2. ^ History Link: "Brotman, Jeffrey H. (b. 1942) and Susan R. (b. 1949)" retrieved August 28, 2015
  3. ^ "Jeff Brotman, Jewish Costco founder, dead at 74". Cleveland Jewish News. August 4, 2017.
  4. Seattle Times: "Bernard Brotman Was Innovator In Retail Business" by Carole Beers August 25, 1996
  5. "Notable Alumni". Zeta Beta Tau. Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  6. Costco About Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine accessed March 1, 2012
  7. ^ Turner, Nick; Soper, Spencer (August 1, 2017). "Jeffrey Brotman, Who Co-Founded Costco in 1980s, Dies at 74". Bloomberg News.
  8. McGregor, Jena (7 September 2011). "On Leadership: Costco chief executive Jim Sinegal". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  9. Brotman Bio Forbes accessed March 1, 2012
  10. Business week on Brotman Businessweek, accessed March 1, 2012
  11. Jeffrey Brotman Executive Profile Businessweek, retrieved March 4, 2012
  12. Jeffrey H. Brotman Market Watch, retrieved March 4, 2012
  13. "Jeffrey H. Brotman". NNDB. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  14. "The Costco heir who became a voice for Baltimore". BBC News. 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  15. jseattle (2016-02-22). "Liquidation: Healeo shutters Capitol Hill cafe, lives on in wholesale juice biz". CHS Capitol Hill Seattle. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  16. "How I Broke Free From the Status Quo of The Fashion Business". Swaay. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  17. "BEnet: True to Yourself Sales". our.barnard.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  18. "Meet the Founder: Jewelry Designer Amanda Brotman". Women on Topp. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  19. Horowitz, Julia (August 1, 2017). "Costco's co-founder and chairman dies". CNN.
  20. Tu, Janet I. (August 1, 2017), "Death of Costco co-founder Jeff Brotman, 74, 'a complete shock'", The Seattle Times
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