How an advertising executive became a technology leader serving clients such as Zara and Uniqlo
Lesley Suen, daughter of SML Group founder Simon Suen, changes career course but is at home in an entirely new field she hopes to expand
One might assume Lesley Suen, a senior executive at family-run retail powerhouse SML Group, has a story similar to many second-generation business leaders born into wealth and holding a plum position.
But the 25-year-old Boston University public relations graduate, who started out in the advertising industry in New York, said she returned to Hong Kong not because of pressure from her father Simon Suen Siu-man, the group’s founder.
“My father never asked whether I wanted to come back,” she said. “Instead I saw an opportunity where I could use my creative skills and knack for trying out new technology.”
Established in 1985 and based in Hong Kong, SML employs 5,500 people globally with clients such as Inditex, the Spanish multinational behind fashion chain Zara, and Uniqlo, the Japanese casual wear brand. It is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of clothing tags and labels.
The younger Suen, third of four children in her family, heads a 30-strong team based in Shenzhen. They are part of the group’s Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) technology arm, which involves using electromagnetic fields to send data wirelessly.
If there is one mistake I’ve made, it would be that I did not come back earlier
