Costco selects Raikes for board of directors

ISSAQUAH, Wash. Costco Wholesale Corp. announced Tuesday that it has elected chief executive officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Jeff Raikes to a seat on its board of directors.

“We are very pleased to welcome Jeff as a new member of our Board. Not only does Jeff bring over twenty-five years of private sector experience, he also brings his reputation as a trusted and respected leader,” Jeff Brotman, chairman of the Costco board of directors said. “[Raikes] and his wife, Patricia, have been deeply involved in education and children’s issues. In addition, they served as co-chairs of the 2006 United Way of King County Fund Raising Campaign, its most successful ever.”

Raikes for more than 25 years served on the senior management team at Microsoft Corporation, where he had spent over twenty-five years. He served as president of the Microsoft Business Division, where he helped support growth to Microsoft’s business productivity line, as well as increasing revenues to almost $16 billion per year.

Raikes has headed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation since September. He is responsible for arranging strategy priorities, monitoring their results and maintaining relationships with the foundation’s key partners.