In
Michael Hershberger
Profile
Mike Hershberger is a second generation WVU Industrial Engineer. When he came to WVU, he was leaning toward Industrial Engineering, but had a very difficult first semester. He had never failed before, and rather than dropping out of Engineering, his bad grades drove him to succeed as an engineer.
When Mike was close to graduation, his father sent him want ads from the Philadelphia – New York area. He took a job with Macy’s Department Stores doing traditional Industrial Engineering work in their Distribution Centers. When Federated Department Stores bought Macy’s, Mike was contacted by a head hunter to join Coach, a small manufacturer of leather goods owned by the Sara Lee Corporation.
Mike started his career with Coach doing traditional Industrial Engineering work. Within two years, Mike transitioned to an information technology role that has eventually involved all aspects of Coach’s business.
The threshold moment in Mike’s career was when he was asked to buildout Coach’s IT infrastructure and related business processes across Asia. This was a high visibility position that enabled Coach to make a smooth transition into global markets. Coach now does $1.5 billion of business in Asia.
Mike has also become involved in the integration of acquisitions into Coach’s IT infrastructure. One recent example is Stuart Weitzman, a high end manufacturer of women’s shoes.
While Mike had computer classes in college, it was his ability to configure applications around the needs of the business that have led to his success. He values the engineering thought process in those he hires, but he wants graduates who work and lead within the concepts of a Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
Mike credits the internship he had in college as being critical to getting his first job. It has been the ability to adapt to new technologies and business areas that have been critical to getting a series of continuing promotions.
Bio
Michael Hershberger is the Senior Vice President of North America and Europe Commerce Solutions for Coach, Inc. This involves oversight of all technology supporting North America and Europe business units.
He created the Project Management Office for Coach IT including the development of project management methodology and tools. Additional practices developed and lead in parallel to the PMO practice included Financial Management, Enterprise Architecture, Information Security and Compliance as well as Software Development and Integration COE.
Mike was responsible for starting up all IT functions for Coach as it expanded across 9 countries in Asia. He is also involved in the integration of new acquisitions into Coach’s IT infrastructure.
Mike started his career with Macy’s after his graduation with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from West Virginia University in 1992.
