Mary T. O’Rourke is co-founder and managing director of the Jassin~O’Rourke Group, a management consulting firm providing strategy development and implementation services exclusively to the fiber, textile, apparel and home furnishings industries and to related supply chain companies, industry trade groups and associations. Professional staffs are based in New York, Dallas, Washington, Canada, Central and South America, and Hong Kong.
Ms. O’Rourke’s consulting experience in the textile industry spans twenty-two years. Areas of specialization encompass corporate strategy, profit improvement, international marketing, process re-engineering, production sourcing, offshore manufacturing feasibility analysis, and the creation of supply chain alliances. The firm is particularly adept in identifying and pre-screening foreign partners for marketing or manufacturing alliances, in Asia and in Latin America.
Ms. O’Rourke is an acknowledged industry expert and is a frequent speaker on international trade issues, global production and sourcing migration trends, and their implications for the industry.
The firm is a member of leading industry associations, including ATMI, NTA, AAMA, LIMA, as well as retail groups such as Retail Marketing Society, Fashion Group International.
Beginning her career in retail, Ms. O’Rourke gained eight years’ experience in various soft goods buying and merchandising capacities, including international sourcing.
In 1979 Ms. O'Rourke joined Werner International, a leading textile engineering and manufacturing consulting practice, to launch marketing and strategy services for textile and apparel clients.
Ms. O’Rourke is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and attended The Fashion Institute of Technology, majoring in Business Administration and Fashion Merchandising respectively.