From Basketball Court To The C-suite

Richard Chang made his name as a star in the NCAA, earning accolades and comparisons to basketball greats. More than 25 years later, he’s senior vice President of Costco Asia, where he’s brought an athlete’s mind to an executive’s job.

- Jordan Murray

Even the briefest glance at Glassdoor, the online forum that allows employees to complain anonymously and publicly about their boss, their pay and their workload, can be disheartening. In 2017, the site found out only a third of all employees in the US are engaged with their job, while less than half would recommend their current employer to their friends.

One company that bucks the trend is Costco. Listed by the site as one of the best places to work in 2016, 2017 and 2019, more than 90 per cent of the company’s employees on the site approve of CEO Craig Jelinek, while four in five say they would recommend the company to a friend. That performance can be attributed to many factors, but when The CEO Magazine sat down to speak with Richard Chang, Senior Vice President of Costco Asia, he highlighted the company’s flat structure as a major selling point.

“In companies like this, you have a lot of room to excel and be recognised because of the looseness of the structure,” he explains. “You can’t hide behind people; you’re accountable for everything you do. If you do well, you’re recognised for it; if you do poorly, well, you’re recognised for that, too.”

The lack of hierarchy and other formalities carries over to Costco’s internal dealings. Richard shares that although he may be Senior Vice President, he rarely goes by that title. In fact, no-one in the company is addressed with an honorific or by surname. “Our CEO? We call him Craig. My boss? I call him Jim.” As for himself? “Right now, I’m wearing a name tag that says ‘Richard’ on it. That’s it. Everybody calls me Richard.”

CAREER BREAK