Marjorie Yang, a member of the Advisory Board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (Tsinghua SEM) and chairman of Esquel Group, delivered a guest lecture at Tsinghua SEM on October 12, 2026 under the theme "Leadership Under Fire: Tough Calls in Reform," before engaging undergraduate, master's and doctoral students in sharing and dialogue. Professor Xu Xin, associate dean of Tsinghua SEM, and Ren Hui, director of the Master's Programs Office, attended the event.

Marjorie Yang delivers her lecture to Tsinghua students.

Marjorie Yang began her lecture by telling a story of a crisp, comfortable white cotton Esquel shirt, before recounting the company's decades-long journey rooted in the textile industry alongside China's reform and opening-up. She also spoke of her family's profound connection with Tsinghua University. Her maternal grandfather was among the young students selected for the Tsinghua College prep-class under the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program and then traveled to the United States for his studies. Upon completing his education in 1919, he returned to China determined to develop domestic industry and encouraged younger generations to pursue industrial endeavors. His enduring belief profoundly shaped Marjorie Yang's career choices.

Since 2020, the geopolitical situation at the international level has been volatile, and many enterprises including Esquel Group have been deeply affected. Drawing from this real crisis, Yang reminded students that the historic dividends of reform and opening-up were formed under specific historical conditions and cannot be simply replicated for the younger generation. Emphasizing that uncertainty is the only constant in today's world, she cautioned young people against assuming that risks will somehow bypass them.

In her view, Yang advised that decisiveness is key to crisis management: when risks emerge, loss containment must start early, and tough trade-offs must be made at critical junctures. Crisis and opportunity go hand in hand, she said, and hardship can drive organizational transformation and enable strategic adjustments that are hard to implement in prosperous times. Seizing the transformative window brought by the crisis, Esquel, proactively evolved from a traditional manufacturer into an innovation enabler that drives high-quality development across the entire textile and apparel value chain, moving upward along both ends of the "smiling curve" to capture higher value. Yang advocates endogenous innovation rooted in real business scenarios, and rejecting empty theorization detached from industrial realities. Teamwork forms the foundation of innovation, she said, and in the AI era, the real economy urgently needs to attract young talent and leverage their cutting-edge perspectives to fuel innovation.

Marjorie Yang delivers her lecture to Tsinghua students.

Turning to corporate social responsibility and manufacturing upgrading, Marjorie Yang shared her reflections. She said enterprises should take proactive corporate social responsibility (CSR) and create public value. Nevertheless, the most pragmatic and achievable growth for manufacturing comes from continuous improvement in refined management and market forecasting, she argued, adding that solid fundamental management underpins long-term, sustainable CRS practices.

Addressing the long-term goal of carbon neutrality in the textile and apparel sector, Marjorie Yang highlighted Esquel's decades-long achievements in water treatment technology – Reduce, Reuse and Replace. These independently developed technologies of Esquel focus on solving key challenges in the printing and dyeing industry and have reached a global cutting-edge level in fields such as water conservation and reduced water usage, membrane treatment, and circular economy. The road to carbon neutrality for the textile and apparel industry remains long and arduous, she noted, before encouraging students to work on the frontlines of industry, embrace technological innovation with professional expertise, and inject new vitality into the green transformation of traditional textile manufacturing.

During the Q&A session, students raised vibrant questions covering technological transformation in the textile industry, organizational crisis management, leadership development and strategic trade-offs. Marjorie Yang responded to each query in detail and engaged in in-depth discussions with students.

Xu Xin presents a gift to Marjorie Yang on behalf of the school.

At the close of the lecture, Xu Xin extended gratitude on behalf of the school and presented Marjorie Yang with a special gift: a hand-painted artwork created by students on an Esquel shirt. Integrating imagery of cotton, Integral (Esquel Sustainable Development Garden), Tsinghua landmarks and lotus leaves, the painting embodies the original aspiration of industrial practice, sustainability concepts and Tsinghua's spirit. It pays tribute to Yang and Esquel's vision of carrying humanistic values through industry and staying committed to long-term goals with an unwavering original intent.

The lecture concluded in a vibrant and engaging atmosphere with many students remaining behind, eager to engage in further conversations with Marjorie Yang. The sharing was highly rewarding for Tsinghua students. Drawing on hands-on industrial experience, she offered valuable insights that illustrated on strategies for navigating adversity, and outlined viable paths for traditional manufacturing to pursue innovation and transformation amid crises. Tsinghua SEM is committed to deepening exchanges and collaboration with enterprises represented by members of its Advisory Board.

Group photo after the lecture

Source: Master's Programs

Editor: Ren Zhongxi