Joe Coulombe has worked steadily since leaving Trader Joe’s in 1989. He has served on a number of corporate boards, including those of Sport Chalet, Bristol Farms, and Cost Plus:
Six years ago he was approached by a man named Jeffrey Lubell, who owned a $3 million jeans company named True Religion. Lovell wanted to expand but didn’t know how. Coulombe assembled a four-person board, raised cash, and True Religion is now a $790 million company with 115 stores.