Dressed for success: Felix Fernando

The fashion industry’s unique ability to give people a sense of identity and expression is worth quite a lot to those who make a living in it. Just ask Felix Fernando, CEO and Managing Director of Omega Line, Sri Lanka’s largest clothing exporter to Europe.

"Success in this industry isn’t measured by factories built, garments produced or markets served," he tells The CEO Magazine. "The real measure of a business is the difference it makes to people."

A three-decade veteran of Sri Lanka’s apparel sector, Fernando occupies an influential position in both his role at Omega Line and as Chair of the Joint Apparel Association Forum.

Omega Line has helped make Sri Lanka a clothing manufacturing specialist. Its lingerie, corsetry and beachwear are sold in more than 5,700 stores around the world, and are made by a team of over 4,000 employees, 91 percent of whom are women.

Trusted partners – including knitted fabric manufacturer Teejay Lanka, packaging solutions provider JHP Lanka and lace specialist Noyon Lanka – have added their expertise to Omega Line’s output. The result of their joint effort is close to 95 million garments each year, from T-shirts and underwear to pajamas and swimwear.

But when Fernando’s journey began back in 1999, Omega Line was a very different company and Sri Lanka was a very different country.

"Omega Line came to Sri Lanka that year and at the time, the Italian group behind the business was considerably smaller than it is now: fewer than 300 stores and turnover of less than US$340 million," he tells The CEO Magazine.

"They were struggling to develop the supply chain capacity necessary to support growing demand."

Rebuilding through opportunity

As the fledgling company expanded its workforce and began developing manufacturing capabilities to support its ambitions, Sri Lanka was being torn apart by the armed conflict driven primarily by the terrorist and separatist campaign of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Government of Sri Lanka and its security forces sought to defeat the LTTE, end the terrorist campaign and preserve the country’s territorial integrity and national unity. The conflict ended in 2009 with the military defeat of the LTTE

When the conflict ended, there was an urgent need to create economic opportunity in areas that had endured years of conflict and deprivation.

"There was a need for jobs, a need for hope and a need for communities to reconnect," Fernando says.

"Omega Line took on the challenge of investing in the northern and eastern parts of the country. People had suffered and needed employment and opportunity."

The move became one of the most meaningful chapters in Omega Line’s story. Before long, Tamil and Sinhalese employees were working in harmony, with the company acting as a bridge between the two communities. It was a trial by fire few executives have the chance to experience, and it left Fernando with a powerful business philosophy.

"Our factory became a place where young people could find employment, dignity and a future," he says. "Organizations succeed because of people."

People power

Sure enough, Omega Line’s geometric growth has created thousands of employment opportunities for local communities. Alongside employment, Omega Line has developed a range of welfare initiatives, including transport, medical support, employee loans, subsidized food and sporting facilities.

The company has also supported schools, hospitals and communities around its operations.

"It’s the people that matter most. You have to have huge empathy and a big heart," Fernando says.

His approach to leadership combines this way of thinking with more than 35 years of manufacturing experience and executive education at Harvard Business School, the Wharton School and Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship Japan among others.

"Industry leadership is ultimately about service," he says. "Strengthening competitiveness, improving market access, supporting sustainability, improving the business environment and ensuring that Sri Lankan apparel remains globally relevant.

"I have a duty to help shape the environment in which an entire industry can compete."

Fernando’s career has progressed in tandem with the Sri Lankan apparel industry’s journey from a largely cost-driven manufacturing proposition to a sophisticated global sourcing and production destination.

"The country’s ability to compete into the future will depend on the ability to develop skills, technology, productivity, sustainability and supply chain capability while preserving the qualities that have made the country attractive to international customers," he explains.

"Omega Line’s success is a practical example."

The company’s status as a major exporter with significant manufacturing capabilities speaks to that, but Fernando says manufacturing excellence can’t be separated from human development.

"Factories are built with machinery and technology; sustainable organizations are built with people," he says.

Developing local talent

This belief is an extension of Fernando’s interest in developing communication and leadership capabilities within Omega Line’s workforce. To this end, he holds the role of Charter President of its Toastmasters Club, a long-standing platform for developing communication and leadership skills among employees.

"Since then, I’ve made a lot of changes, mainly among management," he reveals. "We have a huge talent pool here locally, especially in the technical arena, and we provide so many training opportunities. I’d say Omega Line is truly a learning organization."

The Omega Line Fernando joined way back when as its first-ever Sri Lankan employee may bear little resemblance to the company today, but the CEO says its central philosophy has remained as consistent as a comfortable pair of jeans.

"Business should create value far beyond the balance sheet," he says. "It should provide people with opportunity, develop talent, build trust between partners, strengthen communities.

"And where possible, it should contribute to the development of the country in which it operates. That, I hope, will be my leadership’s legacy."