KARLIN BOHNERT:
 
Karlin Bohnert




 
 
 
 
 
CIO of Retail Grocery Inventory Services, LLC (RGIS) in Auburn Hills. RGIS provides global inventory services to multiple industries in 48 countries. Bohnert has extensive experience in IT innovation for major corporations such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Prudential, Nationwide Insurance, and others where she has held CIO, CTO, and VP roles. Previously, she was vice president of Cricket Communications, where she implemented supply chain and data warehouse/business analytics. Prior to that, Bohnert was vice president of ANF, where she implemented a new Oracle ERP to replace a legacy retail merchandising system. As a vice president at Home Depot, she worked directly with the company's president to acquire and integrate multiple commercial businesses. During her 35 years of experience, she has been a catalyst in IT development for global expansions, the IT strategy for mergers and acquisitions, and the technical transformations of companies to support growth and strategic advantage. Bohnert is a frequent guest speaker at CIO boot camps and is on the Midwest Technology Leaders executive board. She received the InfoWeek 500 CTO Award and IT Energy Visionary Award. She was a nominee for the GlobalEXECWomen and the International Council's International Woman of Influence awards, and finalist for the Technology Association of Georgia Women in Technology's Woman of the Year award. She has held IT advisory board positions at The Ohio State University, University of Oregon, and University of Arkansas, as well as board positions for several non-profits. Bohnert received her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and is working on her MBA. She served in the U.S. Navy for nine years.


WHERE BORN: “On a farm in Oak Ridge, Missouri, on a very hot, hot, hot Missouri summer day. By the way, did I say it was hot?”

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: “During my grade school and high school years, it wasn't a person at all. It was the day-in and day-out hard work of surviving on a large farm. I read anything I could get my hands on to keep from being bored to death in the daily repetitiveness of farming. Likely it was something I read that pointed me in the direction that if you wanted something badly enough, you set a goal, kept a positive attitude, focused and worked hard, and reinvented yourself (change, change, change) when needed in order to reach the goal. It has been my lifelong mantra.”

LAST BOOK READ: “The Big Switch - Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr.”

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: “Taking the road less traveled by others and not afraid of changing things along the way.”

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: “Change is the operative word in the technology field. Sometimes invent it, always embrace it, and absolutely know when to use it - a smorgasbord of dizzying options. Everything I do is about what and how to introduce technology to help the company achieve top line sales and increase revenues.”

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: “By the time this is published, it will be the newest, latest thing ... whatever that is.”

FAVORITE PLACE: “Glacier National Park where it is stunningly beautiful on and off the beaten paths.”

FAVORITE HOBBIES: “I love fishing but it doesn't always love me.”

FAVORITE FOOD: “There is nothing in the world like good Ethiopian food. It's just very hard to find restaurants that serve or specialize in Ethiopian.”

MY HIDDEN TALENT: “A very good DIYer. I have built many decks, finished basements, etc. I thoroughly enjoy working with tools.”

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: “Someone not afraid of taking the 'path less traveled.'”


Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2014, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.