The following description comes from the event organizer.

Join the Albers School of Business and Economics as it hosts its final guest of the 2023-24 Albers Executive Speaker Series, PCC Community Markets President and CEO Krish Srinivasan.

He will be sharing his experiences leading the country’s largest cooperative retail grocer in his talk, People, Planet, and Profit: A CEO's Perspective on Leading a Food Co-op Steeped in Community and Purpose.

From his years as CFO through much of the pandemic, to taking the helm as a first-time CEO in January 2022, Srinivasan will share what it takes to be a responsible steward of an organization focused on balancing profit and its purpose to serve the Pacific Northwest community through a commitment to high quality natural and organic food.

Anchored in its vision, mission, and values, PCC is an iconic local and independent community-owned grocer with 15 stores serving the Puget Sound region (starting in 1953). The pandemic and related economic uncertainty made for choppy waters in recent years— pressures on profits in the face of rising costs and changing consumer behavior, the closure of a much-loved store in downtown Seattle, and a protracted collective bargaining process that was resolved in February 2024. PCC navigated these challenges by ensuring that all business decisions steadfastly channeled a commitment to its people, keeping the community fed, and setting the co-op up to thrive in the future.

Srinivasan grappled with the many and often conflicting priorities that come with managing a unique organization, with a non-traditional business model, during uncharted times. He looks forward to sharing his lessons learned as a CEO in the face of uncertainty, and the privilege and responsibility of leading an organization that must be robustly and sustainably profitable to deepen and widen its mission. This is what a modern co-op looks like.

Register to save your seat and ask questions of Krish Srinivasan. This event is free and open to the public.