Kimberly Kobey-Pretto, President
Kimberly Kobey-Pretto is the youngest daughter of Monte Kobey, founder of Kobey’s Swap Meet. She currently serves as President and CEO of The Kobey Corporation, operators of the Swap Meet. She is married to Charles Pretto, Kobey’s legal counsel and past President of Rotary Club 33.
A graduate of San Diego State University, Kobey-Pretto took over the lead role of the family business after Monte contracted the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. He later died from the disease in 1989. As she was already familiar with every aspect of the family business from sweeping the parking lot to running the day-to-day operations, she became President and CEO of The Kobey Corp. in July 1988.
Under Kobey-Pretto’s management, Kobey’s Swap Meet solidified its reputation as a clean, family-oriented outdoor marketplace. Over the years she’s been able to keep the numbers stable despite increased retail competition and shifts in the local economy. In recognition of Kobey-Pretto’s achievements, the U.S.-Mexico Foundation named her Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992.
Kimberly and Charles have two children, Anthony and Liza Pretto.
Charles J. Pretto, Vice President
Chuck is Vice President and General Counsel of the Kobey Corporation operators of San Diego’s Kobey’s Swap Meet. Chuck earned his BBA 1980, MBA 1982 and JD 1985 degrees from the University of San Diego.
Chuck is responsible for Corporate and Legal affairs for the Kobey Corporation. Chuck has served on numerous non-profit and community boards. Chuck is currently serving as a Past President of San Diego Rotary, the oldest service organization in San Diego and the 4th largest Rotary Club in the world.
He has been married to Kimberly Kobey for thirty years. Kim and Chuck have two grown children Anthony who works along side them at Kobey’s and their daughter Liza who works at Wells Fargo Bank. Chuck enjoys Rocketry and really anything related to space exploration. He currently lives in Mission Hills, along with Kim they currently share their home with two dogs and a cat.
Chris Haesloop, General Manager
As General Manager, Chris has ultimate responsibility for the overall operation and management of Kobey’s. Chris has literally worked all aspects of the operation. Having started in 1980 immediately after Kobey’s made the move to the San Diego Sports Arena, he began his career on the clean up crew, he quickly showed initiative and took on more responsibility. He had the opportunity to learn the business from the founder, Monte Kobey himself. He became the GM in the mid 1980’s and has seen quite a bit under his tenure. His responsibilities include overseeing staff of two companies with a combined total of nearly 75 employees. He had input in the creation of both the old and new reservation system and before the use of computers, he, Kim and Chuck Pretto used to hand write each and every ticket sold at Kobey’s. He successfully worked with the City and Fire Marshall to implement new rules making Kobey’s safer for both customers and vendors.
Anthony Pretto, Advertising & Ops.
Anthony Pretto has been a part of his family business, Kobey’s Swap Meet, for as long as he can remember.
Pretto currently works at Kobey’s full-time as the operations manager and advertising director. His parents, Kimberly and Charles Pretto, serve as the company’s president and vice president, respectively. He’s 25.
As children, Anthony and his sister Liza Pretto, were used in Kobey’s early advertising campaigns on billboards and TV commercials.
Pretto attended Francis Parker School where he played high school football. The school won a CIF Championship his senior year. Recently he coached the school’s JV offensive line for the football team, in addition to school and work.
After he graduated from Francis Parker High School in 2006, he decided to take a role in the business after spending the summer working there. He is committed to the continued growth and improvement of Kobey’s Swap Meet.
Joseph Pretto, Director of Sellers
Joe Pretto has been a part of the Kobey management team since 1988. Joe’s responsibility for Vendor and Seller operations include interfacing with vendors on a one-on-one basis, establishing new relationships, managing our new Point of Sale reservation system and settling vendor disputes. Joe works closely to monitor the overall product mix of the market to assure a wide range of diverse sellers offering the largest product mix at Kobey’s as possible.