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+1.301.405.5218
ila@ila-net.org
1119 Taliaferro Hall
Univ. of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
United States
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Jeff Swartz is the third generation
of the Swartz family to lead Timberland. His grandfather
Nathan started the predecessor company to Timberland in
1952. Jeff’s father Sidney and his uncle Herman launched
the Timberland® brand in the early 1970s. Jeff was promoted
to President and CEO in 1998, after working in virtually
every functional area of the company since 1986.
Under Jeff’s leadership,
Timberland has grown rapidly, from $156 million in 1989
to $1.3 billion in 2009. Timberland today competes in countries
around the world, designing, manufacturing and marketing
footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children.
Today, Jeff leads an organization that
believes that doing well and doing good are inextricably
linked. Timberland struggles every working day to demonstrate
that the business of business is to deliver results for
shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, and consumers
worldwide while demonstrating best practices, measurable
impact and sustainable programs. At the center of this commitment
to be accountable to all stakeholders is Timberland’s commitment
to reducing global warming and preserving the outdoor environment.
In 2006 Timberland introduced
an industry-first “nutrition label” on all of its footwear
boxes in an effort to provide consumers with greater transparency
about the company’s environmental and community footprint.
A year later, the company launched its Green Index™ rating
system, which provides a measure of the environmental impact
of specific products they buy and the company that provides
them.
A commitment to active citizenship through
initiatives like environmental stewardship, global human
rights and community involvement is not new to Timberland.
In 1988, Timberland launched a groundbreaking private/public
partnership with City Year, a national youth service organization.
Jeff joined City Year’s Board in 1989 and was the national
Chair from 1994 until 2003. As a national founding sponsor,
Timberland has invested to fuel City Year’s growth and impact.
Timberland is City Year’s official outfitter, providing
Timberland’s signature yellow boots and a full uniform to
the service heroes who work in 17 sites in America and in
South Africa.
Recognizing that there was a passion
within Timberland for voluntary service, Jeff initiated
The Path of Service™ program in 1992. The program gives
all Timberland employees 40 hours of paid leave each year
for community service during the workweek. Service sabbaticals,
which provide up to six months of paid time leave for employees
to serve in capacity building roles in social justice organizations
is the latest evolution of the Path of Service™ program.
Being accountable to a whole range of
stakeholders, from shareholders to community activists,
has made Timberland a better company. Timberland appeared
on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in
America for 10 consecutive years and has also been named
one of the Best Places to Work by Working Mother magazine.
They have been listed on Business Ethics list of 100 Best
Corporate Citizens and in 2002, Timberland received the
Ron Brown Award, a Presidential award recognizing outstanding
corporate leadership in social responsibility.
Jeff is on the board of directors for
the Climate Group, The Harlem Children’s Zone and Limited
Brands, Inc. He is a member of the Two/Ten Foundation, an
organization providing charitable funds and services to
individuals in the footwear industry and has received their
T. Kenyon Holly Memorial Award for Humanitarian Achievement.
He was also one of 19 founding CEOs selected for President
Bush’s task force on national service called Business Strengthening
America.
Jeff received an MBA from Dartmouth in
1984, and a BA in Comparative Literature from Brown in 1982.
Recent Work—Earthkeepers, Timberland’s global community of individuals and companies committed to improving the environment, have been an avid supporter of reforestation in Haiti. After the recent earthquake, they are redirecting their support to Haiti’s earthquake relief effort.
Learn More
Article about Jeff Swartz in FastCompany Magazine (2008)
About Timberland
About EarthKeepers
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