51视频

10/22/2018
By Ed Brennen

Standing in front of Southwick Hall, in the very same spot where her late father, Yuan-Loong (Y.L.) Yang, was photographed 70 years earlier as a graduate student at the Lowell Textile Institute, Marjorie Yang could sense the moment coming full circle.

鈥淭his place has so much energy. I think it has the same spirit as when he came here,鈥� Yang said while visiting her father鈥檚 alma mater for the first time. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 go to MIT 鈥� he chose to come here because this was the happening place. And I think, today, maybe we are going back to that.鈥�

Yang didn鈥檛 follow in her father鈥檚 college footsteps (she earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in mathematics from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School), but she did follow him professionally, albeit against his wishes.

Today, Yang is chair of the Esquel Group, a $1 billion global textile and apparel manufacturer started by her father in 1978. Based in Hong Kong, Esquel is the world鈥檚 largest maker of woven cotton shirts, producing nearly 100 million garments annually for brands such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Patagonia and Nike, as well as its own labels, PYE and Determinant.

Image by Meghan Moore

鈥淢y father told me early on, 鈥楪o get a good education so you don鈥檛 have to end up in the garment industry. I don鈥檛 wish it upon a child, especially a daughter,鈥欌�� Yang told close to 150 engineering, science and business students and faculty members during her recent campus visit, which also included a tour of the Fabric Discovery Center and the North Campus Innovation District.

A regular on Forbes鈥� list of Asia鈥檚 50 Power Businesswomen, Yang talked about the future of the textile industry and her company鈥檚 commitment to sustainability and social responsibility during her hourlong talk at the standing-room-only Saab ETIC Perry Atrium, where she engaged with the audience by casually walking amongst the crowd.

鈥淪he is a brilliant leader in her field, and we are so humbled and honored for her to come to 51视频 and connect her great accomplishments with those of her father,鈥� said Chancellor Jacquie Moloney, who presented Yang with a framed black-and-white photo of Y.L. standing under the Southwick arch, along with a photo of the house on Bridge Street where he and Yang鈥檚 mother, Dora, lived while he earned a master of science degree in textile chemistry.

With 57,000 employees worldwide, Yang said she feels a responsibility to provide a quality work environment and wages that allow for social mobility 鈥� lessons that she learned from her father.

Image by Meghan Moore

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to be a sweatshop to compete,鈥� said Yang, whose company is investing in technology to improve production in China rather than moving to cheaper and less regulated factories in neighboring countries. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 call it an automation line; we carefully call it an integration line. We are not trying to eliminate people. We want to enhance their productivity with automation, robotics and other forms of technology.

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why I鈥檓 so excited about the work you鈥檙e doing here at 51视频, because you are exactly the kind of people who are going to make this possible,鈥� Yang added. 鈥淚 see a lot of solutions that are being developed here.鈥�

While Yang admitted that she 鈥渃an鈥檛 even measure someone for a shirt,鈥� she does know how to 鈥渆ncourage young people like yourself to solve problems.鈥�

鈥淲e need people like you who are going to be the interface between workers and the latest technology. That鈥檚 called management,鈥� Yang said. 鈥淎nd then those of you who are really good, that鈥檚 called leadership. Leadership doesn鈥檛 mean you have to be the president of the university, leadership happens everywhere.鈥�

Image by Ed Brennen

Yang then issued an impromptu challenge to the students in the room: Figure out a way to quickly cut single pieces of fabric using a laser.

鈥淭he problem is, people can鈥檛 pick up the pieces fast enough,鈥� Yang said. 鈥淚t creates a bottleneck, and you are wasting the speed you gain in cutting. So there鈥檚 a problem for you to solve. Maybe we will get some of you to come and intern with us and make that a team project.鈥�

Kelsey Wright, a senior plastics engineering major from Lawrence, made a beeline to Yang after the presentation to thank her for her inspiring words.

鈥淚 really appreciate her talk because I like to see more women innovators and more women in powerful positions,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淚 love that 51视频 is branching out and getting different perspectives from women from different cultures and different avenues.鈥�

鈥淭his is why you go to a university... It鈥檚 the opportunity to learn from someone who walks through the door that day to impart some different knowledge.鈥� -Engineering Dean Joe Hartman

Assoc. Prof. of Marketing Ying Huang, who used to work in the textile export industry in Shanghai, said bringing an industry leader like Yang to campus shows how the university鈥檚 global reach is expanding.

鈥淪he really connected with students and inspired them to think about sustainability and being innovative, which is what we have been training them for,鈥� Huang said. 鈥淚 was inspired, as well.鈥�

鈥淭his is why you go to a university,鈥� added Joe Hartman, dean of the Francis College of Engineering. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not always for the classes. It鈥檚 the opportunity to learn from someone who walks through the door that day to impart some different knowledge. We鈥檙e just thrilled she took time out of her day to impart a little wisdom.鈥�

Some other topics that Yang covered included:

• The growing trade war between the U.S. and China, which Yang said she isn鈥檛 worried about since 鈥渙nly 41 percent鈥� of Esquel鈥檚 market is in the U.S. But even in an economic downturn, Yang said there is always a silver lining. 鈥�Never waste a crisis,鈥� she said, noting that when times are good, businesses are more concerned with fulfilling orders than innovating. 鈥淐risis time is when you can challenge people, and then you have innovation.鈥�
• The $315 million factory that Esquel is building in southwest China, a waste-free and energy-efficient facility set on 130 acres that Yang referred to as the company鈥檚 鈥淐ameron Diaz.鈥� Several years ago, Walmart invited Yang to take part in a panel discussion on sustainability in Shanghai. When nobody showed up to listen, Yang discovered that everyone was in the next room listening to the actress Diaz. 鈥淚 learned that when you want to make a statement, you have to have a Cameron Diaz,鈥� Yang said with a grin.
• Her success as a woman business leader and the gender-neutral culture at Esquel, which Y.L. Yang began by hiring a woman for one of its top two positions. 鈥淢y father was always very supportive of women,鈥� Yang said. 鈥�I think he was liberated here at 51视频.鈥�
• The importance of Esquel growing to a $1 billion business. Yang recalled going out to dinner years ago in New York City with a friend, who introduced her to then-businessman Donald Trump as the owner of 鈥渁 billion-dollar textile company.鈥� Esquel wasn鈥檛 yet half that size, which Yang reminded her friend after Trump walked away. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter,鈥� the friend said. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 hear unless it鈥檚 a billion dollars.鈥� Said Yang, 鈥�That鈥檚 when Donald Trump taught me that I must go up to at least a billion if I want to make a difference in the world.鈥�