In articulating Costco’s culture, Huskey said it revolves around the company’s mission statement and code of ethics. The mission statement clearly and succinctly states: To continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices.

It’s code of ethics has four short and simple components: Obey the law; take care of our members; take care of our employees and respect our suppliers.

The mantra concludes, and if we do these things throughout our organization, we will achieve our ultimate goal, which is to reward our shareholders.

For Huskey, the concepts aren’t just words but rather a blueprint that he uses to traverse his career. He joined the Costco team on a permanent basis in 1994 and has viewed every move and every promotion ever since as a way to do his part to make Costco successful. He never questioned the direction his career was going but rather knew he was in the good hands of his leaders and mentors. “My main goal has always been to earn my job every day. Fortunately, that has worked out well for me.”

Huskey’s first stint was as a cart pusher at the company’s Federal Way, WA location, located about 30 miles southwest of the corporate office in Issaquah, WA. He then spent about four years in the warehouse working on the front end, as a stocker, a forklift driver and in receiving.

During the first several years, he also attended classes at a community college earning an associates degree.  “I had plans to transfer to a four year college, but I realized I really enjoyed working at Costco,” he said.

Having four years under his belt, the money was good, there was opportunity for advancement and he liked the idea of moving into the corporate office. Costco has a habit of hiring from within and posts its job openings for all its employees to see.

In January of 1998, he became an inventory control specialist (ICS) in the meat department, stationed in the corporate headquarters.  The ICS role is an entry-level position in the buying office. ICSs work closely with their buyer and assistant buyer to uphold

Costco’s 6 Rights of Merchandising:

• The right merchandise

• At the right time

• In the right place

• In the right quantity

• In the right condition

• At the right price

ICSs are also the first point of contact for warehouses when they need something. After a product is purchased by the buying team, the ICS team manages the logistics from supplier through the Costco Depots (distribution centers) and out to the warehouses (stores). It is often a stepping-stone to further advancement, but there are many employees who spend their careers in this very important role. “I enjoyed it and learned a lot about all the proteins we sell,” he said. “There was a learning curve, but learning has always been fun to me.”

Within four years, Huskey had moved into a buyer position for meat, a job he held for 10 years. He then became an assistant general merchandise manager in the same department for about seven more years before rising to assistant vice president for meat in late 2018. In February of 2021, Huskey became the vice president of meat, and moved over as the vice president of produce one year later.

At Costco, moving between departments is not rare. Opportunities present themselves throughout the warehouse and corporate structure and the emphasis is on finding and developing leaders as they move up the ladder. While sector experts are valued, leadership skills rise to the top of any evaluation sheet.

Huskey described himself as a servant leader. “It’s about doing whatever I can to help my team and the company succeed.”

He said mentoring his team and developing those leadership skills of the people on his team are very important. Huskey tries to lead by example and also is diligent about creating a connection with each of his team members.

Huskey freely admitted that he is a produce rookie learning something new every day.

“After 24 years in meat, I knew little about produce,” he said. “Humbly, I had to rely on my team more so than ever to get up to speed on our produce business and the industry. I’ve been fortunate to have a fantastic team around me, no matter what department I’ve been in, and that holds true for my current team today.”

“I like to think that one of my greatest strengths is treating people with respect and helping my team do the best job they can do. I really enjoy being in the produce industry, but working with the people on my team is the most enjoyable part of the job.”