Jim Sinegal, Cofounder and Ceo of Costco

Jim Sinegal is the cofounder, president, and

CEO of Costco Wholesale, America's fourth largest

retailer, which opened its first warehouse

in 1983. Costco is a leading warehouse-club

operator with 546 warehouses worldwide. The

firm has 142,000 employees, 53 million gold

star members, and 5.6 million business members,

each paying $50 per year to join. Revenues

have grown by 70 percent in the last five years

to exceed $72 billion. Costco has an 87 percent

membership renewal rate. A typical Costco

store stocks 4,000 types of items, with a limited

number of each type, such as four brands of

toothpaste.

Unlike the stereotypical CEO, Sinegal doesn't

try to distance himself from his employees. He

even wears a name tag--but not one that says

"Jim, the CEO" or "Jim, Costco

Founder." It just says "Jim." He

easily could be mistaken for a

stock clerk when he visits warehouses,

sometimes up to 12 a

day. On Costco's website, where

executive officers are listed,

his name appears in alphabetical

order--not what you would

expect of a corporate CEO.

His management philosophy

is simple. He states: "We have

said from the very beginning:

'We're going to be a company

that's on a first-name basis with

everyone.'" That also includes

answering his own phone and

doing