LEADERSHIP
From the shop floor to the C-suite : How Alison Francis worked her way up
Over her 25-year career at Costco Wholesale , the HR executive has gone from working in warehouses to managing them . Now , she is laying the groundwork for the next generation of employees to thrive .
By Heather McIlvaine
N ot many retail leaders can say they have worked their way up from the shop floor to the C-suite , and even fewer can say they have done so at the same company for their entire career . But Alison Francis is one of them .
The vice president and chief diversity officer of Costco Wholesale , the secondbiggest retailer in the world , with an annual revenue of $ 235 billion , started working for the warehouse club at just 16 years old .
“ I started as a cashier assistant in the warehouse in Issaquah , Washington , the [ No .] 110 location ,” she told Inside Retail . Over the next several years , Francis held a number of different roles , from an internship with Costco . com in the early days of e-commerce , to assistant general manager of warehouses in Brandywine , MD , and Pentagon City , VA , where she gained a deep understanding of the ins-and-outs of the Costco business .
“ When you ’ re a manager for Costco , especially at that level , you ’ re learning about so many businesses within the business ,” she said . “ You ’ re learning about hearingaid tests and compliance in the pharmacy . You ’ re understanding what a ‘ cut spec ’ in the meat department looks like , and the ‘ why ’ behind it .”
During this period , Francis was also learning how to be a better leader . While working at the Pentagon City warehouse , she took cultural communication classes to help her understand how to connect with team members who came from different countries and , in some cases , didn ’ t speak English fluently .
“ I learned that a smile and a wave of acknowledgement is a universal language ,” she said . “ With intention , every morning when I was coming in , I would walk up and down the aisles , and I would say good morning to everybody who was there .”
Working her way up Francis ’ experience in Pentagon City awakened her passion for diversity , equity and inclusion ( DEI ), though if you asked her parents , they would say she has always been concerned with fairness and equitable treatment .
“ It doesn ’ t surprise them that this is where my career path has gone ,” she chuckled .
Still , it was nearly a decade before she decided to pursue a master ’ s degree in human resources , with a focus on diversity
54 www . insideretail . us September 2023