Gary Weatherford has spent over 15 years as a Senior Executive, excelling at leadership, building teams and managing change, producing extraordinary results at both private and public companies. For Oakland history buffs, Gary was the youngest member of the management team that bought Cost Plus Imports from the Amthor Family in 1987. Rising from entry manager to executive Vice President of Operations, he played an integral role in building the company from a 26 store regional retailer to a 237 store National chain with a market value of over $1 billion. Gary has also served as the COO of Bare Escentuals, where he was responsible for building the operating teams and processes that enabled an accelerated IPO that took the market value of the company from $94 million to over $2 billion in just over two years. He currently serves as a consultant to CEOs and founders of small, rapidly growing companies. Always one to learn from others, Gary recently received his MBA from the USF School of Management’s MBA for Executives program. While in USF’s MBAE program Gary was recognized with the Dean’s MBA Excellence in Scholarship Award for graduating with the Highest Honors, and the Outstanding Student Leadership Award by his classmates.
