A story from Germany to the USA: Who are the founders of Columbia Sportswear?

Gert Lamfrom was born in Augsburg, Germany, to a German Jewish family. She was the daughter of Marie (née Epstein) and Paul Lamfrom. Her father owned the largest shirt factory in Germany until he was taken over. Her mother was a nurse during the First World War. In 1937, when Gert was 13, her family fled Nazi Germany and immigrated to Portland, Oregon, in the United States. In 1938, her father borrowed money from a relative and bought the Rosenfeld Hat Company, a small hat manufacturer. The company was named Columbia Hat Company because of the nearby Columbia River. Gertrude Lamfrom attended Grant High School in Portland and later graduated in sociology from the University of Arizona.

The Columbia Sportswear Company is an American company that manufactures and distributes outerwear, sportswear, and footwear, as well as headgear, camping equipment, ski apparel, and outerwear accessories. It was founded in 1938 by Paul Lamfrom, the father of Gert Boyle. The company is headquartered in Cedar Mill, an unincorporated area in Washington County, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area near Beaverton.

There she met Neal Boyle, who was selling vacuum cleaners while she was getting her degree. The couple married in 1948. In 1949, Gert and Neal Boyle moved from Arizona to Portland with their young son Tim. Neal started working for Gert's father's company. In the late 1950s, the company began selling several outerwear products, such as ski suits, in addition to hats. It became known as Columbia Sportswear in 1960. When Gert's father died in 1964, Neal became president in his place.

Gert Boyle and Tim Boyle Era at the Company

But everything changed when Neal Boyle died suddenly of a heart attack on December 4, 1970. Shortly before he died, Neal took out a $150,000 small business loan and pledged his own house and Gert's mother's house as collateral. The survival of the family depended on the survival of the business. Gert's son, Tim, put aside his law school plans and commuted to help his mother run the business. "We made every mistake in the world pretty quickly, like needlessly laying off employees," he says of those years. "He remembers doing it. But when it came time to sign the final papers, the prospective buyer had a list of additional claims in hand. He realized he was going to leave the sale with just $1,400. For $1,400, I thought, 'I'll put it down myself,'" he says.

Gertrude Boyle (née Lamfrom; March 6, 1924 – November 3, 2019) was a German-born American businesswoman in the U.S. state of Oregon. After her family fled Nazi Germany, her father founded the business that became Columbia Sportswear, where in 1970, she became company president. She remained president until 1988 and additionally, was chairwoman of the company's board of directors from 1983 until her death in 2019. Starting in the 1980s, she appeared in a series of advertisements for Columbia Sportswear with her son, Timothy Boyle, often humorously testing the quality and durability of their products. She was also a philanthropist and memoirist.

Rather than seek the loan, the bank suggested that the Boyles find a counselor to help them, and they did. Thus, the first step was taken on the road to stability and then growth.

So Gert and her son Tim Boyle took over Columbia's operations, saving it from bankruptcy. Gert Boyle served as company president from 1970 to 1988 and also became chairman of the board in 1983. She remained president until her death in 2019. Tim Boyle replaced his mother as president and CEO of Columbia. He continues to hold his position in 1988 and into 2019.

Gert Boyle began appearing in commercials for the company in 1984. She played Ma Boyle, who is the “One Tough Mother” in the commercials, and uses her son as a test dummy for new products. These advertisements continued for more than 20 years and were appreciated by the public. Gert Boyle's "Tough Mother" personality lives on in the Columbia brand. Her legendary perfectionism and the high standards she and others adhere to still guide the brand today.

Company Growth and Award-Winning Innovations

In 1998 the family decided to go public. “We wanted to make sure we had wider ownership by distributing the risk more than a family business,” Tim says. They also wanted to be able to offer stock to employees so they could benefit from the growth of the company. The family retains control of the company, although it is publicly traded.

Columbia in the 2000s

In March 2015, Bryan Timm was appointed president of the company and took over the position from Tim Boyle, who remained CEO. In 2017, it was announced that Byran would step down and the duties of president would return to Tim Boyle. On November 3, 2019, President Gert Boyle died at the age of 95. Tim Boyle was chosen as the company's vice chairman of the board.

------------------------

The Bold Legacy of Gert Boyle

Columbia Sportswear’s matriarch leaves a profound impact on the outdoor industry.

https://www.rei.com/blog/news/the-bold-legacy-of-gert-boyle