Kevin Barney Rollins (born November 15, 1952) is an American businessman and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
. The former President and CEO of
Dell Inc., in 2006 Rollins was named by London's ''CBR'' as the 9th Most Influential person in the Enterprise IT sector.
Biography
Rollins was born and raised in
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
and met his wife, Debra, while attending
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
(BYU).
While at BYU, Rollins earned a bachelor's degree in humanities and civil engineering in 1983 and an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
a year later.
[Kevin Rollins]
/ref> Before joining Dell in April 1996, Rollins was vice president and partner of Bain & Company where he specialized in strategies and management for high technology and consumer product clients. He helped develop strategies that propelled Dell into a commanding position in the direct selling of computer systems in the United States.
Rollins became the chairman of the American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
's Board of Trustees on January 1, 2009.
Dell Computer
Rollins worked at Dell for over a decade in various positions, including Senior VP of Corporate Strategy (1996), president of Dell Americas (1996–2001) overseeing operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, COO (2001–2004), president (2001–2007), and CEO (2004–2007). During the last four quarters of his leadership, the company employed approximately 50,000 workers worldwide and reported revenues of $45.4 billion.
While at Dell, Rollins oversaw company plans to spend more on staff training and customer services, and sales increased $14.2 billion—up 6% year on year with a net income of $762 million. He also announced that Dell would add support for AMD chips. The company has only used Intel microprocessors previously. In 2006, ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine listed Rollins as the 18th highest compensated CEO in the world at $39.31 million for achieving a 9% decline in stock performance during his tenure with a stock performance that was 81 percent that of the S&P 500
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and in ...
.
He also oversaw one of the largest layoffs that Dell had until then (2006–2007) of 8000 people worldwide. There was resentment at his below-par decisions and execution, which could have contributed to his removal from Dell. Rollins was fired from Dell in January, 2007.
Upon leaving Dell in 2007, Rollins was paid $48.5 million in cash related to expired stock options. On July 22, 2010 Rollins was among current and former Dell executives charged by the SEC in a fraudulent accounting case. The case was settled with Rollins reportedly paying $4 million.
Philanthropic efforts
Rollins is a member of the BYU's President's Leadership Council and the Marriott School National Advisory Council, where he founded and continues to fund the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. He also serves at the request of the President of the United States on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation and is a member of the Computer Systems Policy Project and the U.S. Business Council. Rollins is also active in the American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right think tank based in Washington, D.C., that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare ...
and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
His philanthropy has also extended to financially support various political campaigns, including most recently Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
's bid for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Presidency.
Appointments and awards
*Utah Information Technology Hall of Fame (Inducted in 2004)
* BYU President's Leadership Council Executive Committee Member
*BYU eBusiness Center Advisory Board Executive Committee Member
*BYU Marriott School National Advisory Council, Public Relations Committee Member
*Austin Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors (Member At-large)
*KRLU Public Television Board of Directors
*U.S. Presidential Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation Member
*2006 BYU Marriott School of Management Convocation speaker
Personal life
Rollins and his wife have four children and nine grandchildren. In 2019, he put a residence in Del Valle, Texas
Del Valle ( ) is an airport-defined edge city of Austin, Texas, Austin and part of the Greater Austin area. It was founded upon the 19th-century Santiago Del Valle leagues, the largest granted land parcel in Travis County.
It is an unincorporat ...
on the market, after he had it custom built in 2005 by architect David Webber.[''Barron's''](_blank)
accessed November 10, 2019
Notes
External links
*
BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rollins, Kevin
1952 births
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
American chief executives of manufacturing companies
American chief operating officers
American computer businesspeople
American Latter Day Saints
American philanthropists
American technology chief executives
Bain & Company employees
Brigham Young University alumni
Businesspeople in electronics
Dell people
Living people
TPG Capital people