Janet Sherlock to deliver IST commencement address

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Janet Sherlock, chief information officer at Ralph Lauren Corporation, will serve as the keynote speaker at the spring commencement ceremony for the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). The ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, in the Pegula Ice Arena on Penn State's University Park campus.

In her current role at Ralph Lauren Corporation, a $6.5 billion global leader in the marketing, design and distribution of apparel, fragrance, accessories and home products, Sherlock leads her technology organization to support the company’s domestic growth and its strong international, online, omni-channel expansion.  She and her team are responsible for the technology strategy and execution across the enterprise, including product design and development, supply chain, ecommerce, digital and store operations. She is also a member of the executive leadership team.

"Thanks to recent advances in our field, from automation and machine learning to augmented reality and artificial intelligence, we are at a turning point in the age of information,” said Sherlock. “For Penn State IST class of 2019 graduates embarking on their professional pursuits, there has never been a more exciting time to be a part of this industry.”

Prior to joining Ralph Lauren, Sherlock was CIO at Carter’s, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer and retailer of baby and small children’s apparel and accessories. Prior to that, she led the Digital and Omni-Channel practice at Gartner, a leading research and advisory firm. Sherlock held various business and IT leadership roles at Guess?, Inc.; Calico Corners; British Petroleum; and ExxonMobil.   

Sherlock is currently on the board of directors for BJ’s Restaurants and serves as an advisory board member for Backcountry.com. In addition, she recently served as a public officer on the board of directors for the Georgia Technology Authority, appointed by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. Sherlock was the chairman of the National Retail Federation CIO Council, an invitation-only committee made up of 120 of retailing’s most prominent chief information officers.  She also recently served as an economic adviser for the Federal Reserve Bank. 

She holds an MBA from Marymount University and a bachelor’s degree from Penn State in business logistics. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and twin daughters.

“We are honored to have Janet serve as the College of IST’s spring commencement speaker,” said Andrew Sears, dean of IST. “Her diverse professional experience and commitment to service demonstrates the opportunities and potential available to our newest graduates.”

He added, “Her strategic vision and expertise have positioned Ralph Lauren as a technological leader, and we are excited to have her share her experiences with this year’s graduating class.”

More information about spring commencement ceremonies can be found on the Commencement at Penn State website.