theceomagazine.com | 41“Pacific Textiles is honoured to be one of Luen Thai’s
strategic partners since 1997. It is one of the leading
companies in the apparel industry and we are extremely
proud to be part of their remarkable success and growth.”
- Tony Lau, Vice Chairman, Pacific Textiles
and I ask our young to learn from the older
generation about what makes Luen Thai who
we are today.”
Raymond knows that elevating the
younger generation is a big gamble but his
decision to prioritise this has worked well so
far. “My youngest business unit head is only
- He manages a US$140 million business
for me,” Raymond says. “When I promoted
him last year I had a lot of questions about
whether he could take on the responsibility
but he’s doing a wonderful job.”
When it comes to leading his team,
Raymond believes in transparency. “On my
management board, I have eight business unit
heads and a senior leader supporting the
group,” he says. “I encourage everyone to
share good and bad news and to support
each other. In senior leadership, a certain
amount of transparency and empowerment
allows people to make good decisions. I have
a basic policy for my leaders: three strikes
and you’re out; don’t lie, don’t hide; and don’t
give me half the facts.
“Knowledge is very important. When you
have knowledge, you have good logic and
you can make a good decision. Even if you
make a bad decision, you and your team
will be able to turn it around. Without
transparency, many companies have a lot
of internal politics, which wastes a lot of
people’s time. It’s an extremely simple
concept and I am very proud that the last
time I had to use my three-strikes policy
was about 15 years ago.”
Raymond explains that restructuring Luen
Thai Holdings into its current eight business
units has been beneficial, as it has allowed the
business to diversify. “We used to be a very
centralised organisation when we had a
US$300-500 million top line,” he says. “I was
the one who spearheaded breaking down the
business so that we could better achieve our
goals. Through that process, we also went into
some mergers and acquisitions.
“For example, we are one of the very
few companies out there that has two bag
manufacturers. One makes fashion bags for
brands like Coach, Tory Burch and Michael
Kors, the other makes functional bags for
brands like Samsonite and Targus. We also
have the fashion division and the sweater
division. I think the way we are structured
makes us quite different from other players
in the market.”
As CEO (and sometimes COO),
Raymond prefers to spend half his time
thinking about the future of the business.
During this time, he allows his leadership
team to take the reins. “We are not just one
organisation – I have a business unit head,
a president and a partner who treat the »Interview | INSPIRE