On November 14, Tim Boyle, President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Sportswear, will be talking about the politics of trade. The OHSU Foundation will present the 2017 Calvin and Mayho Tanabe Address given by Tim Boyle at the Newmark Theatre at 7pm.
On January of this year, he wrote a letter to the employees of Columbia Sportswear and said, “Our [family’s] presence in America, coupled with the tremendous growth of Columbia Sportswear Company and the thousands of jobs created in Oregon and across the world, are direct rewards of global engagement that are often lost in political debates on all sides of the political aisle.” As the son and grandson of immigrants, he offers a unique perspective on the challenges of staying globally competitive in a world where “America first” is not necessarily a welcome phrase.
Tim Boyle has led Columbia Sportswear Company for 30 years. With his mother Gert, he turned a struggling business into a thriving global brand. Leading the company through each stage of its growth, he has overcome plenty of challenges. But today’s volatile economic and political environment offers a new test in what is already a high-stakes business climate.
Tim’s career with Columbia Sportswear began in 1971 when, during his senior year of college, his father, who had been running the company since 1964, died suddenly of a heart attack. Tim’s mother, Gert Boyle, quickly enlisted Tim’s help to continue the aggressive expansion that her husband had initiated and that had expanded the company’s sales that year to $1 million. Today, Columbia Sportswear is a global enterprise with a portfolio of brands sold in more than 90 countries and annual revenues exceeding $2.3 billion.
An alumnus of Portland’s Jesuit High School and the University of Oregon, Tim serves on the boards of directors of Northwest Natural Gas Company and Craft Brew Alliance, Inc.
For more information and to buy tickets to this event, please visit: https://www.onwardohsu.org/tanabe
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14 7 p.m.
Newmark Theatre, Portland, Oregon
Tickets $20 (Students $10)
Information and copy for this event has been provided by Todd Murphy Communications.