Jeffrey Brotman

Jeffrey Hart Brotman (September 27, 1942 – August 1, 2017) was an American attorney. He was the co-founder and chairman of Costco Wholesale Corporation.

Jeffrey Brotman
Born
Jeffrey Hart Brotman

(1942-09-27)September 27, 1942
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 2017(2017-08-01) (aged 74)
Medina, Washington, U.S.
Alma materB.A., J.D. University of Washington
OccupationAttorney
Entrepreneur
Corporate executive
Known forCo-founder and chairman of Costco
Spouse(s)
Susan Thrailkill
(
m. 1976)
Children2

Early life and education

Brotman was born to a Jewish family in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Pearl and Bernie Brotman.[1][2][3] His grandparents were Jewish emigrants from 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]

Career

In 1982, Brotman co-founded 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 coffee.[3]

Philanthropy

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.

Personal life and death

Brotman was married to Susan Thrailkill, a Montana native and former Nordstrom executive; they had two children, Justin Brotman and Amanda Brotman-Schetritt.[1][3][14][15] Brotman died August 1, 2017 in Medina, Washington, at the age of 74.[16][7] He died in his sleep, possibly due to heart failure.[17] He was a member of Temple Beth El in Tacoma.[3]

References
  1. Roberts, Sam (August 2, 2017). "Jeff Brotman, Founder of Retail Juggernaut Costco, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
  2. Cleveland Jewish Times: "Jeff Brotman, Jewish Costco founder, dead at 74" August 4, 2017
  3. Seattle Times: "Bernard Brotman Was Innovator In Retail Business" by Carole Beers August 25, 1996
  4. "Notable Alumni". Zeta Beta Tau. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  5. Costco About Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine accessed March 1, 2012
  6. Turner, Nick; Soper, Spencer (August 1, 2017). "Jeffrey Brotman, Who Co-Founded Costco in 1980s, Dies at 74". Bloomberg News.
  7. McGregor, Jena (7 September 2011). "On Leadership: Costco chief executive Jim Sinegal". Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  8. Brotman Bio Forbes accessed March 1, 2012
  9. Business week on Brotman Businessweek, accessed March 1, 2012
  10. Jeffrey Brotman Executive Profile Businessweek, retrieved March 4, 2012
  11. Jeffrey H. Brotman Market Watch, retrieved March 4, 2012
  12. "Jeffrey H. Brotman". NNDB. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  13. Racked: "Amanda Pearl's Monsoon Wedding: Love at First Site Via Match.com" by Benjamin Liong Setiawan June 14, 2011
  14. Seattle Times: "Amanda Brotman inherits passion for retail" By Amy Martinez and Melissa Allison April 25, 2008
  15. Horowitz, Julia (August 1, 2017). "Costco's co-founder and chairman dies". CNN.
  16. Tu, Janet I. (August 1, 2017), "Death of Costco co-founder Jeff Brotman, 74, 'a complete shock'", The Seattle Times
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