Jump to content

Tim Boyle (businessman)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2601:143:8003:75f0:c18e:fb2f:9b53:75d2 (talk) at 21:58, 23 May 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the former Australian rules football player, see Tim Boyle
Timothy Boyle
Born1949 (age 74–75)
Portland, Oregon, US
NationalityAmerican
EducationJesuit High School
Alma materUniversity of Oregon
OccupationBusinessman
TitlePresident and CEO, Columbia Sportswear
Term1988-
SpouseMary Boyle
Children2
Parent(s)Gert Lamfromm Boyle
Joseph Cornelius "Neal" Boyle

Timothy Boyle (born 1949) is an American billionaire, and the president and CEO of Columbia Sportswear.[2]

Early life

Boyle was born and raised in Portland, Oregon.[3] He is one of three children of Joseph Cornelius "Neal" Boyle, an Irish Catholic, and Gertrude Lammfromm.[4] His mother was Jewish and fled as a teenager from Nazi Germany. She immigrated to Portland, Oregon,[5] and converted to Catholicism after marrying her husband.[5] He has two sisters: Kathy Boyle (born 1952) and Sally Boyle (born 1958).[4]

His grandfather purchased the Rosenfeld Hat Company[4] and changed its name to the Columbia Hat Company[6] (after the river).[4] His father became president of Columbia Hat after his grandfather died and then diversified the hat business into outerwear[4] for hunters, fishermen, and skiers.[5] In 1960, his mother designed the first fishing vest (his father was an avid fisherman) and the name of the company was changed to Columbia Sportswear.[6]

Boyle was educated at Jesuit High School, in Beaverton, Oregon, just outside Portland, followed by the University of Oregon, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1971.[7]

Career

Boyle was still at university when his father died in 1970[8] at the age of 47. He left to join his mother, who had become president of Columbia Hat, which was then earning $800,000 in annual sales and had 40 employees.[4] The company struggled and teetered on bankruptcy[9] until in the 1970s when Boyle and his mother refocused the business on outdoor clothing and casual wear which paralleled a general trend away from formal work attire.[10] In 1975, they were the first company to introduce Gore-Tex parkas.[6]

In 1986, Columbia released the Bugaboo, a jacket with a zip out lining which became quite trendy and further propelled the company's growth.[4] Columbia was unique among specialty clothing manufacturers in that it would sell its products to any retail shop or chain.[5] In 1987, Columbia had $18.8 million in sales and by 1997 it had grown to $353.5 million.[5] Boyle took over from his mother, Gert, as company president in 1988.[11][12]

The company went public in 1998.[10] In the early 2010s, Boyle refocused Columbia away from top line products and more towards the mid-range, moderately priced products; he also continued to align sales with changes happening in the retail industry, shifting the company more toward internet sales.[2]

Columbia grew into a $6.5bn public company[13], and Boyle's 41% ownership interest in Columbia Sportswear was worth over $1.0 billion in 2013.[2]

Personal life

Boyle and his wife Mary have a son, educated at Drake University in Des Moines, and a daughter, educated at the University of Washington.[14] They live in Portland, Oregon.[1]

In 2007, he and his wife Mary donated $5 million to the University of Oregon.[15] In 2016, he donated $10 million to the University's aquatic animal care facility.[16] More recently the couple donated $10 million towards a biomedical data science initiative.[17] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Boyle reduced his own salary to $10K monthly while maintaining the full salary and benefits of all his company's retail employees.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b "Forbes profile: Timothy Boyle". Forbes. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Forbes: "Columbia Sportswear Thrives, Lifting CEO Tim Boyle To Billionaire Ranks" by Kathryn Dill November 8, 2013
  3. ^ "Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle Buys Gearhart Golf Links". The A Position. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Whitford, David; Gert Boyle (September 1, 2003). "Gert Boyle Columbia Sportswear Co". Fortune Small Business. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e Immigrant Entrepreneurship: "Gertrude Boyle" retrieved November 9, 2013
  6. ^ a b c "History". About Us. Columbia Sportswear. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Columbia:Officers and Directors". Columbia. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  8. ^ Oregon Business: "Tim Boyle charts the future as Columbia Sportswear turns 75" by Linda Baker January 28, 2013
  9. ^ Harriet Shapiro; Diane S. Lund (September 18, 1989). "Gert Boyle Has a Vested Interest in George Bush's Fishing Fortunes". People. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
  10. ^ a b Boyle, Gert (April 1, 2006). "How I Did It: Gert Boyle, chairman, Columbia Sportswear". Inc. magazine. Retrieved November 9, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Steve Duin | For The (2019-11-03). "Gert Boyle, 'One Tough Mother' who led Columbia Sportswear, dies at 95". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-04-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Palmieri, Jean E.; Palmieri, Jean E. (2020-01-27). "Tim Boyle Named Chairman of Columbia Sportswear". WWD. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  13. ^ Read, Richard (2018-11-29). "Tim Boyle of Columbia Sportswear on US immigration policy: 'I think it's just a travesty what's happening'". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  14. ^ "Tim Boyle: CEO Columbia Sportswear". Portland Interview Magazine. October 2, 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  15. ^ Business Wire: "Columbia Sportswear Tim Boyle, Wife Donate $5 Million to University of Oregon" April 13, 2007
  16. ^ Katu: "Columbia Sportswear CEO donates $10 million to University of Oregon" February 28, 2016
  17. ^ "Couple gives $10 million to support biomedical data science". Around the O. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  18. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Samantha Swindler | The; Oregonian/OregonLive, Jeff Manning | The (2020-03-28). "Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle cuts own salary to $10K, retail employees receive regular pay". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tim_Boyle_(businessman)&oldid=958453264"