Rebecca Goff, Licensed Optician on Influential Women

Influential Woman · Retail Management, Technology

Rebecca Goff

MBA

Licensed Optician, Costco Wholesale

Fort Myers, FL

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree MBA Cert MBA Cert Licensed Optician (Florida) Cert Realtor (Florida) Member Rotary International

Her Story

About Rebecca

Rebecca Goff brings more than 25 years of expertise in retail management and technology to her professional roles. She began her career at LensCrafters learning to sell and make eyeglasses before moving to Costco, where the company supported her path to becoming a licensed optician in Florida. Her first manager position at Costco was as optical manager, a role she held while advancing through various responsibilities including partner and vendor management governance, operations and P&L management, leadership and talent development, and strategy and enterprise transformations. After 25 years at Costco, she transitioned to the technology industry, drawn by a vendor relationship that offered new opportunities aligned with her skills. Goff completed her MBA last year and maintains her Florida optician license through continuing education, in addition to working as a realtor in the state. She is a 14-year member of Rotary International and past president of her local club, dedicating volunteer time to both Rotary and United Way. Goff attributes her success to an amazing support team and surrounding herself with advocates and good people, believing one is a product of their environment. She values integrity, loyalty, patience, empathy, and care, practicing a servant leadership style. Her advice to young women entering the industry is to learn from every leader, good or bad, and she emphasizes the importance of listening and processing before responding in professional settings. In her current field, she navigates rapid technology changes, particularly with AI, stressing the need to integrate advancements while preserving the human factor to maintain customer trust.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Rebecca

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to an amazing support team personally and professionally, finding my advocates who believe in me, and surrounding myself with those good people. I truly believe you are a product of your environment, and if you find good people then you will be at your best.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice is to listen and process before providing an opinion or input. I tend to be very impulsive in response and sometimes need to slow down and listen and process first.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say learn from everyone, whether a good leader or a bad leader, everyone has something to teach. What you take away from them of who you want to be or the leader you don't want to be is critical. You have to learn as much about the negative or what you don't want to be as much as you do about the positive.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

The technology improvements are quick and fast, trying to keep up with the changes especially things like AI. Trying to find the sweet spot in the technology changes for your type of business is critical. AI is more about the process and speed of technology or analyzation of data, it doesn't just replace people, and companies that eliminate the human factor too much will lose customers.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Integrity, loyalty, patience, empathy, care. I have a servant leadership style and will do anything I can for anybody who works on my team.

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