Background
After her family fled Nazi Germany, her father started Columbia Sportswear, where she later became president Born Gertrude Lamfrom to a German Jewish family in Augsburg, Germany, she was the daughter of Marie (née Epstein) and Paul Lamfrom. Her father used to own the largest shirt factory in Germany until it was seized by the government.
Her mother was a nurse during World War I. In 1937, when she was 13, her family fled Nazi Germany and immigrated to Portland, Oregon, in the United States.
Her grandmother who stayed behind died in a concentration camp. In 1938, her father borrowed money from a relative and purchased the Rosenfeld Hat Company, changing its name to the Columbia Hat Company (after the river).
Education
She attended Grant High School in Portland and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Arizona.
Career
As of 2013, she is the chairperson of the company, as well as a philanthropist and memoirist. In 1975, they were the first company to introduce Gore-Tex parkas. Boyle started starring in commercials for the company in 1984.
In 1986, they released the Bugaboo, a jacket with a zip out lining which became quite trendy and further propelled the company"s growth.
Columbia was unique among specialty clothing manufacturers in that it would sell its products to any retail shop or chain. In 1987, Columbia had $18.8 million in sales and by 1997 it had grown to $353.5 million.
The company went public in 1998. In 1995, Boyle outfitted the Special Olympics Team United States of America for the World Games.
She donates the royalties from her autobiography One Tough Mother to the Special Olympics and Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children.
In 2014, Boyle donated $100 million to the Knight Cancer Institute.
