PriceSmart names new CEO
PriceSmart is keeping it in the family.
The membership warehouse club retailer said that Robert Price plans to step down as interim CEO, effective Aug. 31, 2025. His son, David Price, who currently serves as executive VP, chief transformation officer and board member, will become CEO, effective Sept. 1. Robert Price will become executive chairman.
Robert Price has led PriceSmart as interim chief since February 2023 and has been chairman of the company since its spin-off from Price Enterprises in 1997.
"As I approach my 83rd birthday in 2025, the time is right for me to transition from day-to-day duties and become executive chairman of the board of directors,” said Robert Price. "David and I have worked together on a daily basis for the past two years and I have kept a close eye on his progress during his almost decade with the company. I have complete confidence in his leadership, and I am thrilled that the PriceSmart board of directors has selected him as my successor.”
David Price has been with the company since July 2017 and was promoted to his current roles in 2023. He has served as a member of the board since February 2022.
“David Price is ideally prepared to assume the duties as our next chief executive officer,” said John Hildebrant, president and COO, PriceSmart. “He has been inculcated in PriceSmart's values by his father Robert and his grandfather Sol Price his whole life. The transition from Robert to David ensures continuity for our members, employees, and stockholders."
Based in San Diego, PriceSmart operates 54 membership warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory (ten in Colombia; eight in Costa Rica; seven in Panama; six in Guatemala; five in Dominican Republic; four each in Trinidad and El Salvador; three in Honduras; two each in Nicaragua and Jamaica; and one each in Aruba, Barbados and the United States Virgin Islands).
In addition, the company plans to open one club in Cartago, Costa Rica in April 2025 and one warehouse club in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala in the summer of 2025.
