washington business
A New Name for Pacific Crest Industries —
Bellmont Cabinet Co.
Of Note
Jim Sinegal, Co-founder and
CEO of Costco, to Retire at End of Year
Jim Sinegal, CEO and co-founder of Kirkland-based Costco
Wholesale, will retire at the end of the year, the company
announced recently. Craig Jelinek, currently president and
chief operating officer, will take his position. Sinegal, who
built Costco into the third-largest retailer in the country, will
remain with the company through January 2013, serving in an
advisory role and assisting Jelinek during the transition. He
will also continue to serve on the company’s board of directors.
Jelinek started with the company as a warehouse manager
in 1984, and has since served in every major role related to
Costco’s business operations and merchandising activities, the
company said.
Pacific Crest Industries, a former AWB Community Service
Award winner, has a new name: Bellmont Cabinet Co. The
Pacific-based company said the new name is a variation of
the Italian word for “beautiful mountain,” and it’s meant to
recognize its location near Mt. Rainier, as well as its 25-year
legacy under the leadership of the firm’s founder, Steve Bell. In
2009, the company received one of AWB’s Community Service
Awards in recognition of its numerous local and international
outreach efforts, including its support for the Tacoma Rescue
Mission, Habitat for Humanity and Agros International, a
nonprofit that works with rural villages in developing countries.
Coinstar is Fastest-Growing
Washington Company on Fortune List
Bellevue-based Coinstar Inc. (Washington Business,
Summer 2011) came in No. 22 on Fortune magazine’s Top
100 fastest-growing companies, the highest showing for a
Washington-based company. Coinstar, parent company of
Illinois-based Redbox, recorded 81 percent earnings growth
over three years on 37 percent revenue growth and a 19
percent total return, the magazine reported.
Passages: Albert D. Rosellini (1910 – 2011)
Former Gov. Al Rosellini died Oct. 11 at age 101. Rosellini, a Democrat
who grew up in Tacoma as the son of Italian immigrants, has been
called the “transportation governor,” largely for his role in advancing
construction of the Highway 520 floating bridge, but also for scores
of other projects completed during his two terms as governor. The
floating bridge was re-named in his honor in 1988. Rosellini studied law at the University of Washington and worked as an attorney
in Seattle before serving in the state Senate. He was elected governor in 1956 and re-elected in 1960. He lost a bid for a third term to
Republican Dan Evans, who told The Seattle Times that his former
rival was the “first of what I would call the modern governors of our
state.” In addition to championing high-profile transportation projects, Rosellini is credited with modernizing the state’s mental health
system, separating the juvenile and adult justice and prison systems,
and helping to advance the Seattle World’s Fair. Following his terms as governor, Rosellini continued to work well into his 90s
as an attorney and political strategist. “From the state’s diverse economy to the bridge across Lake Washington that shares his
name, Governor Rosellini’s legacy and the state we cherish are in many ways one in the same,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a
statement. “Incredible as his accomplishments in office may have been, Governor Rosellini was so much more than his record.
He was a trusted mentor and beloved friend, and the countless lives he touched, including mine, may be his greatest legacy.”
12 association of washington business