Almost a year after Costco Wholesale’s long-time finance chief stepped down from the CFO post he held for roughly four decades, Richard Galanti has retired and left the company: He clocked his final official workday on Thursday.
It’s been something of a long, bittersweet goodbye. As planned, since March Galanti has served in an advisory role after handing the finance reins to his successor, Costco’s current CFO Gary Millerchip. Galanti has also served as executive vice president and a member of the company’s board of directors, according to a securities filing. He attended his last annual meeting in January.
But old habits are hard to break. Galanti was back in the Issaquah, Washington-based company’s offices Tuesday, collecting a few personal things he’d left behind. “He’s still here today cleaning out his desk,” said David Sherwood, vice president, financial planning and investors relations at Costco. Sherwood described Galanti as an executive who was steeped in the company’s culture and a “tough to replace” steward of the company, who is “everybody’s friend.”
In keeping with his nickname as the “voice” of Costco to Wall Street, who is known for his ability to tease out the stories and trends behind the company’s numbers, Galanti called CFO Dive Tuesday from his car to tell his parting tale. “I went to grab a couple pictures off the wall,” he said, along with some other personal knick-knacks he’d left behind in his old office, he said, noting that he wasn’t returning on official business.
Looking back, he expressed gratitude for having had the opportunity to be part of the retailer’s growth trajectory. Coscto had 896 warehouses as of Nov. 24, according to its latest quarterly report. Galanti first cut his retail teeth working in his family’s Atlanta grocery business, CFO Dive previously reported. He joined the warehouse club retailer back in 1984 when it was just opening its first three locations in the Pacific Northwest and he was just two weeks shy of his 28th birthday.
On Tuesday, Galanti also shared some of his thoughts on succession planning, his future, and what he will miss. In terms of an ideal time period for a typical executive transition, Galanti said he’d advise about two to three months. In the case of Millerchip, an experienced finance executive and former CFO of Cincinnati, Ohio-based grocer Kroger, his successor was “good to go from the beginning.” Galanti said his decision to stay through the year was not related to the time needed to help Millerchip transition into the CFO role.
Asked what Galanti will miss at the company, he first noted that “first and foremost, that will be the people.” He said he’d also miss being what some have called “the voice” of Costco.
“Certainly you miss being in the game,” he said, noting that he has plans to put his business experience to use on corporate boards. Looking ahead, Galanti said he also has plans to spend more time with family and travel.
There is one thing that he hasn’t loved, and that is the increased regulations that public companies must grapple with. “I won’t miss the ongoing increasing complexity of running a business,” he said, noting that he has always joked about the rising number of acronyms that are now part of retail which is, at its heart, a very simple business. “You buy stuff and you sell stuff,” he said.
Over the past year, Galanti’s departure has been well-feted. There have been numerous celebrations, Sherwood recalled in an interview Tuesday. Galanti also was honored in other ways, including with a lifetime achievement award from the CFO Leadership Council, which noted that Costco has become a “global powerhouse” under his leadership.
Among the public farewells, there was one notably heartfelt exchange that pierced the routine earnings protocol during the final call hosted by Galanti last year. “I feel like we should be, like raising your jersey to the rafters like a superstar is retiring here,” said one analyst, according to a transcript of the March 7, 2024 call. “Congratulations.”
