Executive Management

Robert E. Price has served as Interim Chief Executive Officer since February 2023 and has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company since its spin-off from Price Enterprises, Inc. in 1997. He served as Executive Chairman from October 2018 to February 2020. Mr. Price has served as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company at various times during the Company’s history, including as Chief Executive Officer from April 2006 until July 2010. Mr. Price was a founder of The Price Company, which operated the Price Club, and served as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of its board of directors from the time of The Price Company’s founding in 1976 until The Price Company’s merger with Costco Wholesale Corp. in 1993. Mr. Price was Chairman of the Board of Price/Costco, Inc. from October 1993 until December 1994 and Chairman of Price Enterprises from July 1994 until September 1997. Mr. Price currently serves as a Manager of The Price Group, LLC and as Chairman and President of Price Philanthropies Foundation and the Allison and Robert Price Family Foundation. Price Philanthropies is a private family foundation that supports charitable activities in the Company’s markets and San Diego, California. Mr. Price is also President of the Aaron Price Fellows Foundation, the sponsor of the Aaron Price Fellows Program.

John D. Hildebrandt has been President and Chief Operating Officer since December 2022 after serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company from May 2022 to December 2022. He held the position of Executive Vice President and Acting Chief Operating Officer from March 2022 to May 2022 and previously served as Executive Vice President — Operations of the Company from February 2010 to February 2022. Mr. Hildebrandt served as Executive Vice President—Central America and Trinidad Operations from March 2009 through January 2010, as Executive Vice President—Central America Operations from August 2003 until February 2009, as Executive Vice President—Caribbean and Asia Operations from July 2001 until July 2003 and as Senior Vice President of the Company from September 2000 until July 2001. Mr. Hildebrandt previously served as Vice President of the Company from September 1998 until August 2000, overseeing operations in Central America. Mr. Hildebrandt served as the Company’s Country Manager in the Philippines and Panama from August 1997 until August 1998, and as Price Enterprises’ Country Manager in the Philippines and Panama from 1996 until the Company was spun off from Price Enterprises in August 1997. Prior to joining Price Enterprises as Country Manager in 1996, Mr. Hildebrandt was a Senior Operations Manager of Price/Costco from 1994 through 1996, and served in various management roles for The Price Company beginning in 1979.

Francisco Velasco has been Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Company since July 2016 and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer since October 2016. Mr. Velasco serves as a member of the Board of PriceSmart Foundation, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation which serves as the philanthropic partner for the Company, providing resources to local organizations and institutions that support education, youth development, economic development, or community resilience. From March 2009 to June 2016, Mr. Velasco served as Division Counsel Latin America for AbbVie Inc., a publicly traded global biopharmaceutical company. Previously, he held in-house legal roles at Abbott Laboratories, Hanes Brands Inc. and Sara Lee Corporation, and he began his career in private practice specializing in the Latin America region. Mr. Velasco attended law school in Mexico, has a Masters of Law degree from Georgetown University and has an MBA degree from Duke University.

Ana Luisa Bianchi has been Executive Vice President – Chief Merchandising Officer since August 2018 and was Senior Vice President – Merchandising – Latin America Local from October 2016 through July 2018. From 2010 to October 2016, Ms. Bianchi was Vice President – Merchandising, overseeing the local side of the Colombia business. Ms. Bianchi previously served as regional buyer for the Central America operations from 2007 to 2010. From 2005 to 2007, Ms. Bianchi was local buyer for the Guatemala operations. In 2004, Ms. Bianchi was a consultant to PriceSmart’s St. Thomas operations. In 2003, Ms. Bianchi served as Merchandising Director for U.S. food purchases. From 1999 to 2003, Ms. Bianchi served as the food and candy buyer in the Miami corporate office. Ms. Bianchi joined PriceSmart in 1998 as a local buyer for the Guatemala operations. Ms. Bianchi has a law degree in Guatemala from Universidad Rafael Landívar.

Rodrigo Calvo has been Executive Vice President – Real Estate since June 2015 and served as Senior Vice President of Real Estate from February 2009 after joining PriceSmart in October 2004 as Director of Real Estate. Before coming to the Company, he led Grupo Promerica’s real estate development division. Before that, he worked for McDonald’s Corporation’s real estate area and for CSU (now Walmart Central America) in special projects. This combined background allowed him to develop a deep understanding of the commercial real estate field in Central America and the Dominican Republic. He holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Costa Rica and an MBA from INCAE Business School.

Michael L. McCleary has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since April 2020, after serving as Senior Vice President and Interim Chief Financial Officer from December 2019 to March 2020. He joined the Company as Vice President and Corporate Controller in 2003 and was subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller. Mr. McCleary has over 30 years of international finance, tax and accounting experience. Mr. McCleary is a certified public accountant and has a bachelor of arts degree in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to joining PriceSmart, Mr. McCleary worked for 14 years for various international companies based in Madrid, Spain.

Brud E. Drachman has been Executive Vice President – Environmental Responsibility, Construction and Facilities since August 2019, served as Executive Vice President—Construction Management of the Company from November 2005 until July 2013, as Executive Vice President—Real Estate and Construction of the Company from February 2005 through October 2005 and as Executive Vice President—Construction and Private Label Merchandising from November 2004 until January 2005. Mr. Drachman served as Executive Vice President— Real Estate and Construction of the Company from November 2002 until October 2004 and served as Senior Vice President—Real Estate and Construction of the Company from August 1998 to October 2002. Mr. Drachman previously served as Vice President—Real Estate and Construction at Price Enterprises from August 1994 to August 1997. Prior to joining Price Enterprises in 1994, Mr. Drachman served as Project Manager at The Price Company beginning in 1987.

David N. Price has been a director of the Company since February 2022. Mr. Price has been an employee of the Company since July 2017, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer.   He previously held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Board and the Company’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, Robert Price, from December 2022 to July 2023. From August 2021 to December 2022, Mr. Price served the Company as Vice President for Environmental and Social Responsibility and had previously served as the Company’s Vice President for Omnichannel Initiatives and Environmental and Social Responsibility. From August 2018 to August 2020, Mr. Price was Director of Ecommerce. Mr. Price serves as President of the newly established PriceSmart Foundation, a California nonprofit corporation serving as a philanthropic partner to the Company and providing grants to nongovernmental organizations focused on youth development, economic development, and community and environmental resilience in PriceSmart countries. Mr. Price also serves as Vice President of Price Philanthropies Foundation, a private family foundation working to transform the lives of youth and families through grant making and youth programs, and as Chairman of the Board of the Wildcoast Foundation, a binational nonprofit that works on coastal conservation efforts and natural solutions to climate change in Mexico and in California. In addition, Mr. Price serves on the board of the Aaron Price Fellows Foundation and serves on the Director’s Councils of The USC Price School of Public Policy and The Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Mr. Price received a Master of International Affairs from the University of California San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California. Mr. Price is Robert Price’s son. Mr. Price’s leadership in business transformation and environmental and social responsibility initiatives contribute to the Board of Directors conclusion that he should serve as a director of the Company.

Laura Santana has been Executive Vice President—Information Technology since March 2017. Ms. Santana has served in progressively responsible positions relating to the Company’s IT systems since joining the Company in 1995. Ms. Santana previously worked at The Price Company from 1987 to 1995 in operations and information technology. Ms. Santana is a graduate of the University of San Diego.

Christopher Souhrada has served as Executive Vice President--Club Operations since May 2022 after serving as Acting Senior Vice President--Club Operations from March 2022 to April 2022. From July 2020 to February 2022, he held the position of Senior Vice President--Business Development. He previously served as Senior Vice President--Operations from August 2009 to June 2020, Vice President--Operations from November 2002 to July 2009, Country Manager from September 2000 to October 2002, and Club Manager from May 1999 to August 2000.

Jesus Von Chong has been Executive Vice President – Local/Regional Merchandising since August 2018. He previously served as Executive Vice President – Chief Merchandising Officer from September 2016 through July 2018 and was Executive Vice President – Foods Merchandising from November 2015 through August 2016. Mr. Von Chong served as Senior Vice President of Merchandising for Central America beginning in 2003, added Colombia to his responsibilities in March 2011 and the Caribbean Region in April 2015. He served as a Regional Merchandising Director for Panama, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic from 2000 to 2003. He was first employed by the Company as a buyer in the Company’s operations in Panama in 1996. Mr. Von Chong progressed to head Buyer in 1998, Warehouse Manager for Via Brasil Operations in 1999 and to Panama’s Country Manager in 2000.

Wayne Sadin has been Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer since July 2023. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Sadin worked as an independent IT advisor and technology analyst for more than ten years. His clients included the Company from March to June 2023, Acceleration Economy and Cloudwars from October 2018 to June 2023, Via Group Partners from September 2020 to June 2023, Wiginton Fire Systems from August 2019 to March 2020 and Orion Group Holdings from January 2019 to October 2021. Mr. Sadin serves on the Advisory Board for Via Group Partners and is a member of the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance, the FBI’s Infragard Program, the Digital Directors Network and the National Association of Corporate Directors. Additionally, Mr. Sadin is NACD Directorship Certified and holds the NACD CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight. Mr. Sadin has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from Boston University and a Master of Science degree in Management Science from the University of Texas.