For Greg Goheen, Public Storage is a really big small company even after 50 years of serving customers.

Goheen has spent 25 years with the company. The first nine years were with Shurgard Storage, which we acquired in 2006. For the last five years, he’s been working in Seattle as a divisional manager.

“There are just people in so many different departments that have been here for a while and we know each other,” he said. “You know and build trust with each other and you are absolutely like family.”

Starting a Career With Public Storage

When he first joined the industry he was looking to gain experience as a manager. He didn’t anticipate staying as long as he has. He’s not alone, Public Storage has several longtime employees who have grown their careers with our Orange Doors.

Goheen credits his lengthy tenure to the great work environment his entire time here.

“We’re all one team,” he said. “As divisional managers, we have opportunities to go into Glendale [headquarters] and we all know each other and we’re all trying to help each other succeed. That’s a fantastic culture.”

Regional Manager Eric Engel first met Goheen in 2013 when Engel was relocated to the Portland market as a then senior district manager.

For Engel, Goheen was instrumental in preparing him for his promotion to regional manager in 2015.

“He has a leadership quality that blends accountability and improvement with emotional connection,” Engel said of Goheen.

When asked to describe Goheen’s leadership qualities, Engel responded: “Calm and cool as Switzerland.”

“He has an uncanny ability to slow things down and de-escalate the most stressful of situations,” Engel added. “He reads the room and responds in a way that unites.”

Goheen joined Shurgard in 1997 as a relief manager in the Seattle market. Over time he moved into a district manager position, which he held when he joined Public Storage.

He was immediately impressed with the company’s fiscal responsibility and recalls everyone in the organization really “excited in those early years to see if we could get it up to 2,000 locations.” Public Storage now has more than 2,800 locations!

Opportunities Within the Organization

Goheen has seen Public Storage also focus more on how we grow and develop people and their opportunities within the company.

For Goheen, one of the most exciting things in his career was going on a trip to Hawaii for serving on a select team within the company that performed exceptionally well. At that time, Goheen was in a new role as senior district manager and Hawaii was added to his territory. The trip was more than just the opportunity to go to Hawaii.

“It gave me the chance to meet and get to know many of the leaders of the company, including the CEO,” he explained. “I had never been to Hawaii in my life and now it was part of my market and I was going there as part of a contest. That was a highlight of my career and an exciting time of growth for me.”

As Public Storage celebrates its 50th anniversary, Goheen said there is a sense of pride in working for a company that is an industry leader.

“It’s exciting to see us have a huge presence and visibility in the markets we’re in and be such a recognizable name,” he said. “People know the brand, they recognize us and there’s a consistency that people like and respect about us. It means a lot to us as employees to uphold the brand and make sure we meet customer needs.”