Portland’s Trendsetter: Tim Boyle

Portland’s Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear received yesterday the “Trendsetter of the Year Award” from the University of Oregon’s Charles H. Lundquist College of Business.

The Trendsetter Award is typically given to those few individuals throughout the country who have created successful and enduring business enterprises through keen entrepreneurial foresight.

Boyle’s career began at Columbia in 1970 while he was a senior at the University of Oregon. In 1988 he was named president and chief executive officer. Boyle oversees the general management of all operations of the
company, including its Internet operations.

Turns out that Boyle’s foresight has convinced him of the importance the Internet can play in his company’s day-to-day operations.

His company recently updated their Web site (www.columbia.com) to become even more e-commerce oriented. The product section of the new site highlights over 120 items from the company’s Spring 2001 line, which includes outerwear, sportswear, footwear, fishing and youth products. In addition to viewing products, visitors can check the latest stock price, search for a local Columbia Sportswear retailer or link directly to an online retailer to purchase Columbia merchandise.

“We wanted to make Columbia’s website a valuable source of information for customers and retailers,” says Dan Hanson, marketing communications director at Columbia Sportswear. “This updated site is much more interactive, and allows the end-user to find the ideal Columbia apparel based on specified categories, activities and gender”.