Wolverine World Wide Inc. president and CEO named fall 'Executive In Residence' by ISU's College of Business; to speak Oct. 7

AMES, Iowa -- Timothy O'Donovan, president and CEO for Wolverine World Wide Inc., Rockford, Mich., will speak at Iowa State University on "Building Successful Global Brands." His talk will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, in the Richard and Joan Stark Lecture Hall, 1148 Gerdin Business Building. The event is free and open to the public.

O'Donovan is the College of Business' fall semester Executive in Residence. He is an Iowa State graduate in industrial administration and has a master's degree in business administration from Michigan State University, East Lansing.

After graduating from Iowa State, O'Donovan joined Wolverine. He has held several senior management positions with the firm, including with the Bates and Hush Puppies footwear divisions. In 1992, he was appointed president of the Hush Puppies Company and as a corporate executive vice president. He was elected president of Wolverine in 1996 and became chief operating officer in 1997. O'Donovan was appointed chief executive officer in 2000. He has been a member of the board of directors of the company since 1993.

He serves on the board of directors for Spartan Stores Inc., and is an executive committee and board member of the Two/Ten International Footwear Foundation.

The Executive in Residence program for the College of Business was created in 1995. The program furthers the college's mission of linking theory with practice. It enhances the educational programs of the college by enriching the learning environment of students, fostering research ideas for faculty and graduate students and providing insight to new business ideas and perspectives. Executives in the program teach undergraduate classes, conduct graduate seminars and interact with faculty and staff.