D. Scott Olivet PO ’84 was named the newest member of the Pomona College Board of Trustees earlier this month. Olivet is currently the Executive Chairman of RED Digital Camera and Chairman of Oakley, Inc., and brings decades of business and marketing experience to the position.
“Given the years of service and the impact that many Trustees have had on the College, it is humbling to join the group,” Olivet said. “I look forward to finding areas of opportunity where my professional and life experiences might lend some perspective, ideas, or approaches that might be additive.”
After graduating from Pomona with a degree in government and public policy, Olivet went on to earn his M.B.A. from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 1990. Before being named CEO of Oakley, where is how now chairman, he oversaw branding campaigns for Nike subsidiaries, including Converse and Hurley. Before that, he oversaw branding for The Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic as vice president at The Gap, Inc.
New trustees are identified and recommended by the Trustee Committee, a subcommittee of the Board of Trustees, and voted on by the full Board. The search committee looks for alumni and non-alumni with Pomona ties that bring a particular skill set to the governing body.
“Scott Olivet is a highly qualified Trustee with a broad range of experience in the business world,” said President David Oxtoby. “He will be very helpful with strategic planning and in helping us to position ourselves nationally.”
Olivet says he is eager to work with students, faculty and staff to improve Pomona, and give back to his alma mater.
“My experience as a CEO is that I get the greatest satisfaction when I can help someone grow and accomplish something they never thought possible or spark an idea with someone that they then drive to great heights,” he said. “If sharing an experience with a student at a trustee-faculty retreat or brainstorming ideas with the faculty or administration can provide just a few of these sparks, then I will have done for someone else what Pomona did for me.”
This article is corrected from an earlier version.
