Tasmin Farzana ’14 was finishing up her MBA program at UNC Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business and Economics when she got the email.

“Actually, the day of my final exams, I was walking to the parking deck and I got my Hanesbrands email that day. They were interested in an interview, it was pretty amazing,” she said. “I started at a very lowly contractor level and I was there in that position for three months and thankfully my work was noticed. I have been fortunate that I have been promoted to several positions in the past five years.”

Farzana, Senior Procurement Manager of Global Operations at Hanesbrands Inc., now leads a global team and supports supply chain operations by managing direct and indirect materials for Hanesbrands products: fabric, elastics, and so on. Earlier this year, she oversaw the chemical component of an agreement to supply the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency with more than 20 million medical gowns amid the pandemic. 

Part of what made that gown project difficult was timing.

“Usually you place the order to the supplier, but we didn’t even have six weeks. So if the gown delivery is due within a month you need everything the next day, right? So it’s not like suppliers are sitting on it for us when we place an order,” she said. “Having never managed this category I had to establish relationships with multiple global suppliers and allocate inventory immediately.” 

Farzana said another challenge was navigating things like airport closures amid the spread of COVID-19. One day they’d be tracking materials on time, and the next they would be stuck in Miami. 

“Here’s Bryan problem solving, right,” said Farzana. “What do you do with this situation?” 

Farzana credits her time with the Bryan School’s MBA program for helping to prepare her for these types of professional challenges. 

“The challenging projects I had, when I hire people I ask, ‘How good are you at problem-solving?’ And that’s Bryan’s motto. I absolutely love that,” she said. “My MBA projects, they were practicing what they were preaching. Those things helped me a lot.”

That problem solving is what caught the eye of her first hiring manager.

Farzana admits it hasn’t all been easy. 

“That transition was tough, that (first job) was just a contractor role so I had to prove myself a lot,” she said. “I had to go above and beyond to prove myself every day.”

She also says she hasn’t done it alone. Her current supervisor Jason Geisler says Farzana’s relationship building sets her apart.

“Tasmin is an extremely motivated leader that excels in building cross functional relationships to drive results. Her ability to learn quickly and adapt in a fast paced environment has fueled her professional growth,” said Geisler, Director of Global Procurement.

Farzana’s advice to prospective students?

“For students, be mindful that real life can look like (your MBA projects),” she said. “Work with teachers, and if you can have a trusted group of classmates that help each other — in real life you work with so many different teams, when there’s trust you can get things done and that’s great.”

Farzana’s advice to prospective students?

“For students, be mindful that real life can look like (your MBA projects),” she said. “Work with teachers, and if you can have a trusted group of classmates that help each other — in real life you work with so many different teams, when there’s trust you can get things done and that’s great.”