CWU COB To Hear From 'Tommy Bahama' COO

May 10, 2004

Contact: Jennifer Christensen (509-963-2931/fax 509-963-3042/e-mail: boddyd@cwu.edu)

ELLENSBURG, Wash.-- "I don't really look at it as visiting Ellensburg, I look at it as coming home."

So says Doug Wood, the chief operating officer (COO) of "Tommy Bahama," who will deliver the keynote address at the Central Washington University College of Business (COB) Annual Honors Banquet on Saturday, May 15, in the Samuelson Union Building Ballroom on the Ellensburg campus. The event celebrates achievements and accomplishments COB students and faculty members.

Dr. Roy Savoian, COB dean, said, "We're extremely pleased that Doug will be the keynote speaker and look forward to hearing about his career and what he has learned along the path he has taken."

From the age of 4 to his graduation from CWU in 1987, Ellensburg was home to Wood. His grandfather started Button's Jewelers in 1940 and the company has remained in the family as it was passed on to Wood's grandmother and, then, mother.

In describing the family store, Wood explained, "My grandmother was an amazing woman that had an incredible knack of helping people not just selling jewelry. My mother has the same knack, that same soft touch, that I think people appreciate."

Tommy Bahama COO for three years, Wood is responsible for all operations, finance, human resources and information technology for the Seattle-based company, founded in 1992.

The company offers men's and women's apparel, accessories and home furnishings. Independent specialty retail stores as well as upscale department stores sell the collection offered by Tommy Bahama. The company also operates 43 of its own retail stores and seven restaurants.

"Tommy Bahama has experienced phenomenal growth since its founding and is focused on continuing to expand its product and retail operations," Wood stated.

"I didn't know anything about fashion or apparel and they didn't really know much about running the operations of a $400-million company," Wood pointed out. "So they focus on the brand and the design, and I focus on everything else."

Another contributing factor to his decision to join Tommy Bahama was the people he would be working with.

"I really care about what type of people I work with," he added. "Character matters. The owners are not just great business people they are great people. I knew I could work in a company that had a foundation rooted into such great people."

In defining his success, Wood explained it is mainly due to hard work and passion.

"Success has nothing to do with titles and money," he continued. "It's about how you feel about what you are doing."

He went on to say his success means more since he is able to share it with his wife, parents, brothers, son and daughter, and his family and friends here in Ellensburg, many of whom will attend the annual COB banquet.

"What I am is because of them," he concluded.