Solutions Current Issues > July/August/September 2006 > COVER STORY
Email LinkThe East-West Connection
Minnie Yao helps oversee our Asian operations.
Global perspective: Minnie Yao leads
RL Hudson's Asian operations
by JIM MORGAN
It is 11:16 on a Thursday evening in Shanghai. In her Hongqiao District apartment, Minnie Yao busily types responses to an inbox full of e-mails from the United States. It’s the culmination of a busy day spent conferring with our Asian manufacturers.
“I visit, talk, and work with RL Hudson’s Chinese suppliers in the daytime,” she explains in soft, methodical tones. “But I e-mail and phone my Hudson colleagues in the U.S. at night. Because of the time difference between here and there, I have to work that way.”
Indeed, as RL Hudson’s Director of Asian Supplier Quality, Minnie has become quite adept at making the switch between working within the Asian culture during the day and the American culture at night. And as a talented young professional, she exemplifies the burgeoning spirit of the bustling city she calls home.
CITY ON THE SEA Once a quiet fishing village, Shanghai is now the heart and soul of Chinese industry, finance, and commerce. With a population of 17.5 million, and another 3 million daily visitors, Shanghai is home to a huge variety of industries, including iron and steel, textiles, machinery, electronics, telecommunications, petrochemicals, and automotive.
“There is an energy and an excitement in Shanghai,” says Minnie. “And a growing pace. I enjoy that very much. People love to learn in this city. I do, too.”
Learning has always been central to Minnie’s life. Her father was both a college dean and an electronics professor, and her mother was a librarian and school administrator. In the classroom, Minnie’s favorite subjects were physics and electronics. But being a star pupil wasn’t always her main priority.
“As a child of teachers,” Minnie reflects, “I always needed to act like a good student. But I was not very disciplined as a child. I wanted to watch TV longer than allowed, and I didn’t like to do the extra homework my parents assigned in addition to my normal school homework. But after twenty years of being educated by my family, I became more disciplined, and that has helped me very much. I am proud to have exceeded my parents’ expectations.”
QUALITY EDUCATION Minnie’s resume is extremely impressive. She earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree (with honors) while majoring in electronic engineering at Hefei University of Technology in Hefei, China. Following graduation, she worked for two years as a Supplier Quality and Development Engineer for Delphi Packard in Shanghai. That was followed by two years as a Senior Sourcing Engineer for Shanghai Motorola. Starting in 2000, Minnie spent three years as a Certified Lead Auditor for Det Norske Veritas, a Norway-based independent non-profit foundation and leading international certification body of management systems. Her work for Det Norske Veritas gave her great experience in the quality arena.
“ We conducted quality system audits for more than 200 clients,” Minnie recalls. “That included global companies like Lucent, Ericsson, Honeywell, and Delco. We also provided quality management training to help our clients ensure a high level of customer satisfaction.”
Continuing to pursue her formal education, Minnie next earned a Master of Business Administration degree (with a specialization in supply chain management) from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. As part of an international exchange program, she also studied operations and logistics at “The” Ohio State University in Columbus. Her MBA complete, she went to work for E-Z-GO Textron in Augusta, Georgia.
“My time with E-Z-GO was a wonderful experience, because I was conducting supplier quality system audits in Asia,” says Minnie. “I also actively monitored supplier performance, as well as problem reporting and resolving for the suppliers worldwide. I learned a great deal in doing so.”
OUR “AWAY” TEAM Earlier this year, Minnie joined the RL Hudson family as our Director of Asian Supplier Quality. As such, she spends a great deal of time communicating directly with our Asian manufacturers to make certain that production runs smoothly and that all expectations are being met. Minnie coordinates her activities with the other members of our “away” team. That team includes Aaron Stair, our Asian Supply Chain Manager, who is based in Beijing. Both Aaron and Minnie work with Jessi Chang, our Director of Asian Supply Chain Management, and Jessi’s wife, Joanne, who assists with order expediting and freight issues. Jessi and Joanne live in Taichung, Taiwan.
Having studied and worked on both sides of the Pacific, Minnie is keenly aware of the cultural differences that exist between East and West. She has especially noticed different attitudes toward age and experience.
“American people tend to want to look younger than their real age,” she says with a smile. “But the Chinese often prefer to look as mature as possible. There is a common saying used by senior Chinese: ‘The amount of salt I taste is more than that of rice you ate.’ That means senior people have much more experience and knowledge than junior people, so the juniors should listen to the elders.”
The elder to whom Minnie listens most attentively is her father, and she credits him as having had the greatest impact on her life. “He taught me all the ways to learn the world and to develop a plan for my life,” she says. “And he also taught me my life motto, which is, ‘Where there’s a will, there is a way.’”
BATTLE STRATEGY That can-do attitude also informs Minnie’s approach to her hobbies, which include playing competitive badminton. Having first taken up the sport over 15 years ago, she and a number of her former Motorola colleagues received professional coaching when the company organized employee clubs. And the coaching paid off; Minnie was runner-up in the women’s doubles division at the University of British Columbia Legacy Games in 2004.
“I love badminton because it not only requires battle strategy,” she explains, “but also teamwork with your playing partners. You have to be well coordinated. You exercise all your muscles in moving, jumping, and hitting the shuttle. And you have to think the whole time you are playing. Where are your rivals positioned? Which direction will play go next? What should be my tactic?”
A sudden smile blooms on Minnie’s face. “It’s great training for life and business, too,” she exclaims, “whether you live in the East or the West!”
