Admired Leader by Mary

Aarron Feuerstein was the CEO, of Malden Mills, a textile mill in Malden Massachusetts. His leadership as a CEO exemplified having a heart for people that went way beyond money. Feuerstein was third generation to run this textile mill, which produced polartec. The mill was a significant source of employment for many families in the town of Lawrence and the surrounding community.

On December 11th, 1995, two weeks before Christmas, a fire devastated the mills by burning it to the ground. This was the largest fire, Massachusetts had seen in centuries. In an interview with 60 minutes, Feurstein is quoted as saying, “I was proud of the family business and I wanted to keep that alive, and I wanted that to survive. But I also felt the responsibility for all my employees, to take care of them, to give them jobs.” Art Bouly, is quoted in his news letter for Quality Monitor Newsletter, as saying, ‘Feurerstein had a conviction that the employees were the most critical asset and lived by it.’

I think for myself, I see that Feurerstein never allowed money to become the motivating factor in running his business, but always saw people as his priority. It was a love for God and people that motivated him in doing the right thing in a difficult time.

In the days following the fire, Feuerstein made a choice to take care of his employees and pay ideal employees, who were literally of no profit to him at this time, there full salary for the next three months. In all he paid out 25 million dollars in salary to his employees. When asked by 60 minutes if this ‘great moral gesture, was a wise business move’, his response was, “I think it was a wise business decision, but that isn’t why I did it. I did it because it was the right thing to do.” When asked why he did not take the $300 million in insurance money and retire, Feurstein’s response was immedietly, ‘And what would I do with eat more, buy another suit, retire and die. No that did not enter my mind. It was not an option. Not for a second.’

In the end I would love to say that the mill turned, profits increased and they were able to recover from their loss. However ultimately, in 2001 and 2003, they filed for chapter 11. Feuerstein is now 82 and owns 5% of the company. In 1996, Feurerstein is quoted as saying to Parade Magazine, "I have a responsibility to the worker both blue-collar and white-collar. I have an equal responsibility to the community. It would have been unconscionable to put 3000 people on the streets and deliver a deathblow to the cities of Lawrence and Methuen. Maybe on paper our company is worthless to Wall Street, but I can tell you it's worth more."

In Aarron Feuerstein's inheritance to his children may not be handing them down a fortune 500 company, however he is passing to them an inheritance of love for people and integrity that will be passed down through generations to come and in eternity the only thing that lasts forever is love.