George Feldenkreis
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer,
Perry Ellis International Inc.
Recipient, Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws
Commencement Remarks
Babson College
May 20, 2006
Good morning…
It looks like we finally got a beautiful day in Boston, and it’s a great day in your life: one that you will remember and treasure forever. For those of you who are surprised to hear a spanish accent coming from someone named “Feldenkreis,” I was born in Cuba to Russian parents who came to Havana in 1923 with basically nothing but what they were wearing, and who had to learn a new language in order to make a living.
I began working when I was 15 years old, finished high school at night, and then continued to work while obtaining my degree from Havana University Law School. On a day like today I got my law degree, and thought that I had a great future ahead of me. soon afterwards, we had the revolution we had all wanted. We were finally going to be free of a dictatorship, free of injustice, free of corruption; we were going to build a new country. Unfortunately, we were betrayed.
In 1961, I arrived in Miami with a pregnant wife, a 1-year old, and shattered dreams of becoming a successful lawyer and businessman. I had arrived in a country where my law degree did not have much value, and where I had no friends or close relatives. It was a very dark hour, brought about by my desire to live in a country where I could have freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and where I wouldn’t have to conform to a malevolent despot’s decisions about my life.
Soon afterwards, I started a company that imported motorcycle parts from Japan. There was a new motorcycle coming into the United States called “Honda.” the factory was shipping as much as they could and there were not enough spare parts when motorcycles broke down; there was a window of opportunity for a few years to import those parts, and I took advantage of it.
A few years later, in 1966, I went to Puerto Rico, where my brother had decided to move because his English was worse than mine and he figured he could make a better living in a Spanish-speaking country. we started to import guayaberas and back-to-school apparel, and created a company called “Supreme International,” which 30 years later was renamed Perry Ellis International.
The automotive parts company did well developing niche markets: First, motorcycle parts, and later, automatic transmission parts for repairing Japanese cars. By being the first to import parts for those new Japanese transmissions, we were able to build a healthy business (which I sold in 2001 when I needed more time to run Perry Ellis and could not concentrate on building another business).
By 1993, Supreme was growing and I ran out of collateral to pledge to the banks that were financing us, but we had an opportunity to sell 1/3 of the company through a public offering. Our business grew from $33 million in 1993 to close to $900 million this year. Today, we employ about 2,300 people, of which over 200 are in Asia. We operate out of 8 locations in the United States, and 9 offices in Asia and Latin America. We are probably one of the ten largest men’s sportswear companies in the United States.
When I came to the United States, the transistor had just been developed. Color TV was in its infancy, portable calculators were just being developed, there were no P.C.’s, no internet, and no fax machines. There were no cell phones – can you imagine that? There were no Blackberries – how could you live without one? Life without iPODS?
All of that has happened in just 40 years. In fact, the iPODs and the Blackberries probably were non-existent when you entered high school. So what will we see in the next 40 years? I’m not going to explore today a Jules Verne vision of the future. The point is that things will happen that you never expected, and that might drastically change whatever you are doing. You must always be flexible, always willing and ready to learn, to change, and to adapt to new circumstances.
I would like to share with you some traits which I think have helped me through the years:
Whatever you are going to do, be determined and feel passion for what you are doing. You need to learn, to study, and to be open to new ideas. It’s newness that creates wealth. “new” is good. “New” is great. “New” is the future. Think outside of the box.
Persevere. Be consistent in pursuing an idea and a business. Don’t change course or become disappointed because somebody does not buy your product or listen to you. At the same time, when it is obvious that the project is not working despite your best efforts, don’t be stubborn or arrogant. Move on to the next project.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s part of learning. If you have never made a mistake, you have never taken a risk and you haven’t accomplished much. Together with my list of successes, I have a long list of mistakes (some by commission, and most by omission).
Excellence is the baseline. Nothing else. You need to believe that you are the best at doing what you are doing. You are not doing it to the best of your ability. You are doing it better than anyone else can do it.
There is no substitute for hard work. You have to be ready to make whatever sacrifices are needed in order to be successful. I don’t know of any successful entrepreneur who doesn’t work far more hours than the average person. Be willing to give up a date because you have to work and have a deadline to make. Be willing to go to sleep earlier and forego going to a party because the next day you must be in great mental and physical health.
Be honest. Be honest with your friends; be honest with your customers; be honest with your employees; be honest with your bosses; be honest with your vendors. In the long run, honesty is the easiest and cheapest path to success. Dishonesty might bring you profits in the short run, but in the long run it will only bring you failure, shame, and aggravation. Honesty and ethical behavior must always govern your thoughts and actions. It is not true that ethical short cuts are the best way to succeed.
Whatever you are doing, make sure that you know how to do it as well as anyone else. If you delegate, make sure to follow up and request accountability.
Stand up for what you believe in! Don’t be scared of dictators. Don’t let others impose their unjust will on you. Help the poor, the meek, the weak. Don’t condone abuse, corruption, or injustice.
Despite your long work hours, never forget about your family. I feel pity for all the entrepreneurs whose children lead shattered lives because their parents did not give them the love and attention they needed; it is a measure of failure, Regardless of how much wealth you have accumulated. It’s about creating an environment of harmony and keeping your family as your first priority.
Be charitable. You didn’t do everything by yourself. Whatever you have accomplished, you’ve had help from: 1) the country and community in which you live, and 2) the people who work with you. Improve the life of those who work with you; they deserve it. Improve the community that made it possible for you to succeed. Help your Alma Mater so those coming after you can benefit the way you did.
It’s not all about making money. It’s also about making those around you stronger and better, and living in a society that is humane, fair, and prosperous.
For those of you going back to Latin America and to other so-called “under developed countries,” remember that at the root of the problems in your countries is: 1) corruption, and 2) the fact that, in many of these countries, the wealthy echelons of society have always been very egotistical and narrow-minded. By not sharing the fruits of their wealth, they have helped to create situations like we have today in Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and many other countries. You are the leaders of the future. You have to make sure that there is a fair distribution of wealth through honest taxation (like in the United States), and that the cancer of corruption is eliminated.
Remember that life is about options. I know that you had the choice of going to Harvard or Yale but you preferred Babson. Through your lifetime you have made a number of choices, and going forward you will have more important choices to make. The composite of choosing the right options throughout your lifetime is what is going to ensure that you live a successful and happy life. The first option is to get better prepared for tomorrow than you are today. Keep working, and success will come.
As the world changes and you consider your many options, always remain optimistic. when I was your age and I got my law degree, and later struggled through the setbacks of revolution and EMIGRATION (and adopting a new country and a new way of life), I never thought that the day would come where I would be delivering a commencement speech at an American college, in English, and getting back the law degree that Fidel Castro took away from me (even an honorary one). That definitely was not my vision at your age.
When I arrived in this country, the United States had just elected its first Catholic President, Blacks in the South were asked to sit in the back of the bus, and their children could only attend segregated schools. Jews, fresh from the Holocaust, were still having to deal with not being accepted at many universities, Hotels, clubs, and even neighborhoods in Boston and Miami Beach.
With Russia and China together, it seemed that communism, intolerance, and injustice were the wave of the future. Russia had just beaten the United States into space with the first Sputnik. KHRUSHCHEV and Fidel Castro were threatening the whole world. But eventually, the Berlin wall fell, and communism now seems like a distant nightmare.
I lived through Vietnam, with the DIVISIVENESS it created, and its worldwide social and economic consequences. I lived through Desert Storm, 911, Afghanistan, and now Iraq.
During all these traumatic years I have seen the American spirit soar. I have seen an African-American as Supreme Court JUSTICE and a Jew as a candidate for Vice President of the United States. More Hispanics have come into the United States in the last 30 years than the total population of Central America. I have seen discrimination against blacks, Jews, Catholics, Native Americans, gays, and lesbians fade away in the most tolerant and accepting society the world has ever known. While there is still a long journey to travel together to build a better society, we must accept and congratulate ourselves on what has been achieved in the last 50 years.
There has never been and there is no country in the world where minorities and ethnic groups are as welcomed, accepted, and finally integrated into society as in the United States. I think that is due to the great qualities of the American people; our basic belief in freedom, in fairness, in all men being created equal, and in the sense of community involvement, ethics, charity, love of god, and love of our neighbor. I hope that you will keep and remember this message.
It has been said that only death and taxes are certain, but we are living in a new epoch: the Epoch of uncertainty. As we face together the uncertain future, we will continue to learn how to overcome our difficulties and strengthen our principles to remain a beacon of hope for all repressed people in our midst and around the world.
To the Americans here, be proud of your heritage. This is the greatest country the world has ever known. This is the best group of people that g-d has ever put together. We don’t impose our lifestyle and systems on others. It’s others that want to impose their views on us and make us live according to their wishes (whether fascists, communists, or radical religious leaders).
For those of you that come from other countries, remember how good this country has been to you. When you hear people talk about the United States, think about the friends you have made here, and the real people you have met. This is the real United States, and this is a country that is always going to be on the side of freedom, fairness, and justice. Don’t forget that when you go back to your country. We want to be partners with YOU; we want to build a better world.
Today, I want to thank Babson College for having bestowed this honor upon me, and for having given me the opportunity to talk to you. It is really an honor and a privilege, and I wish you the very best that life has to offer, in health, wealth, and happiness. May God bless you.
