Big Horn Co-op names new CEO following business shakeup

Posted 1/14/25

A month after announcing the closure of most of its retail stores, including in Powell, the Big Horn Co-op has a new CEO.

Jim Gauker, who had been serving as the co-op’s chief financial …

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Big Horn Co-op names new CEO following business shakeup

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A month after announcing the closure of most of its retail stores, including in Powell, the Big Horn Co-op has a new CEO.

Jim Gauker, who had been serving as the co-op’s chief financial officer, took over the top spot on Jan. 8, according to a release.

Gauker was hired last March to clean up the co-op’s financials, being brought on with the understanding that former CEO Randy Carlholm planned to retire within the next few years. Gauker hadn’t expected to take over so soon, but said he was ready when Carlholm announced his retirement.

“I want to get back to serving the members,” Gauker told the Tribune. “I want to get out and look forward to meet anybody that cares to meet the new CEO. I’m going to make myself available and visible and as transparent as possible to everybody, because I believe they deserve that, and I hope, after they meet me, get to know me, that they'll say, ‘You know what? I believe in this guy’s vision. I’m going to give him another chance.’”

He takes over an organization that has been through turmoil, especially since the Dec. 4 announcement that the co-op was closing all but one of its retail stores. After that news broke, members expressed frustration with leadership — especially during Carlholm’s two-year tenure — on social media and to the Greybull Standard. The newspaper reported that, according to the Big Horn Co-op’s annual audit report, the co-op lost $6.2 million in 2024 and $2.9 million in 2023.

Gauker said those losses are in part a result of the co-op finally ridding itself of inventory purchased many years earlier, describing it as a way of “cleaning up the financials.”

He said one of the reasons the co-op found itself in such a bad place financially was from paying money out to members it hadn’t always received from vendors.

“That’s kind of got us in a pickle,” he said.

“Every dollar you make to the bottom line is the board’s decision. How much of that dollar do you give back to the members, and how much do you keep back to keep the business running and growing?” Gauker said. “And can you be able to buy new equipment for agronomy and fuel so that they’ve got good trucks and sprayers and spreaders to take care of the members? So equity management’s a big deal, and that
has been mismanaged."

Gauker spent 10 years as the CFO of a larger co-op in his home state of Indiana before coming to the Big Horn Basin — an area he said his whole family loved from prior trips. Gauker lives in Cody with his wife and daughter, who works in Cody. Gauker said the family decided to have him make the long commute to Greybull each day, and save his daughter the long drive across the basin.

“t does give me a good amount of time to wind down before I get home, and it definitely helps me plan my day,” he said. “By the time I hit the door, I know exactly what I need to do.”

What Gauker needs to do now, he said, is win back the support and confidence of members while attracting new customers. As a way of doing that, he plans to hold town hall meetings all over the basin to tell people what the co-op continues to offer in their communities. As just one example, while Big Horn Co-op closed its retail store in Powell, its gas pumps and tire shop remain open for business.

Gauker said his vision for getting the co-op back on track includes running lean. He added that there haven't been and won't be big, frivolous trips or dinners for the leadership, as have been alleged by members, under his watch.

“We’ve got to get back to where we're profitable,” Gauker said. “And I feel if we implement the changes, getting back to where we're focused on our core businesses, we can do that. We’ve got to earn the trust back from the communities that we’ve not taken care of the last few years.”

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