Cascale names Ying McGuire as new CEO

Cascale, the global nonprofit behind the Higg Index measuring supply chain sustainability, has chosen Ying McGuire as CEO. She brings more than two decades of global nonprofit and corporate leadership, including at Dell Technologies.

When McGuire starts June 1, Cascale’s interim CEO Harsh Saini will step down after nearly a year.

McGuire has described running a nonprofit organization like a business. “We still need to bring the best and brightest talent and invest [in] technology and optimize costs,” she said several years ago on the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast. “But the only difference between running a nonprofit and running a business is we’re making impact. We’re not making net profit.”

Cascale’s Higg Index offers a common methodology for consumer goods companies to measure performance on environmental and labor factors within their supply chains. More than 40,000 organizations use the suite of five tools, according to Cascale.

McGuire will lead the organization as it advances a decarbonization program that launched in 2022, requiring members to cut emissions by 45 percent by 2030. The goal marked a shift in the early 2020s to amplify collective industry impacts.

Cascale recently warned that the fashion industry needs to pursue overlooked emissions hotspots, such as mills.

“We are delighted to welcome Ying McGuire as Cascale’s next CEO and look forward to working closely with her, our members and the broader ecosystem to strengthen collective action and advance a more sustainable and resilient global value chain,” Cascale Board Chair Tamar Hoek said in a statement.

McGuire’s roles

Most recently, McGuire served as CEO, president and board member of the U.S. National Minority Supplier Development Council. Over four years, she grew corporate membership by 48 percent, doubled revenue in two years and sought to modernize services, according to her LinkedIn profile.

In addition, the group’s 17,500 businesses from traditionally underserved communities employed some 2 million U.S. jobs and created $379 billion in annual revenues in 2024.

Prior to that, she spent a decade as vice president of international operations and business development at Technology Integration Group. She also served for two years as a council member of the United States Investment Advisory Council.

For more than 11 years, McGuire led supply chain efforts at Dell Technologies, including as global leader of indirect procurement.

In September McGuire became a limited partner and venture advisor for IA Global Ventures, specializing in helping immigrant startup founders.

She holds an MBA in international business from the Thunderbird School of Management and graduated from Nankai University of Tianjin, China.

Cascale history

Cascale has had several leadership and organizational transitions in recent years. In February 2024 it ditched its original name, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), which Walmart and Patagonia launched in 2009.

The coalition had hit pause on its consumer-facing scorecard after the Norwegian government in 2022 accused the coalition, along with H&M and Norrøna, for misleading consumers. After complying with regulators and undergoing an external review, the SAC rebranded and recalibrated.

For the past two years, Cascale has emphasized collective action on climate, nature and labor issues. It also reworked its engagement with members to emphasize input from manufacturers and suppliers.

Saini, also a Cascale board director, last July became temporary CEO to replace Colin Browne, who served for one year.

McGuire has spoken of purpose, strategy and culture as keys to organizational transformations. “Transparent and ongoing communication helps alleviate fears and uncertainties, encourages buy-in and ensures that everyone can be on the same page throughout the journey,” she said.