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Warren is giving away his billions. Bill is taking early retirement to concentrate on working with his charity. U.S. charitable giving has reached new "highs." What's going on here? Is social responsibility becoming cool? The CIO of a $1.6 billion dollar wholesale/retail company that has built its culture around social responsibility believes that being progressive can also be profitable, and she proves it. Timberland is the company, and Rosalee Hermens is the CIO whose task it is to align the nuts-and-bolts of IT with Timberland's goals for social responsibility and business success. And she does it very well.

This CIO aligns her organization with Timberland's socially progressive principals while ensuring the company is at its competitive best. Within the structure of Lean Six Sigma, Hermens ensures that Timberland maintains high customer satisfaction among its suppliers, business partners, and customers. And, she strives to make sure that IT is an environment in which employees enjoy, and are proud to work.

Resources

Timberland Web site

Bio

As CIO for Timberland Company, Rosalee Hermens, is responsible for the development and execution of Timberland's global information systems and strategies. She works to ensure that Timberland's IT infrastructure enables the company to maintain a strong competitive advantage in its operations, manufacturing, distribution, and sales.

Prior to joining Timberland, Rosalee was the founder and principal of Hermens and Associates, a strategic IT management consulting firm. In addition, she served as vice president and chief information officer for Aspen Technology, Inc., and spent eleven years at Compaq/DEC. Rosalee holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oregon and a Masters of Arts in Administrative Science from Yale.

Production Credits

Elizabeth Ferrarini, Producer
Dana Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host
Kimberly Stone, Web Development Manager
Scott Ebner, Web Developer