Invest Japan Symposium
Invest Japan Symposium | Washington D.C. Speakers | | Print | |
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Washington D.C. Speaker Bios | Miami Speaker Bios
He has served since 2005 as director of programs for the National Council on Readiness and Preparedness, a community-based grassroots organization providing forums to develop a national strategy for homeland security that includes first responders, businesses and community leaders. In 2001, he founded Kruesi Center for Innovation, a program to identify breakthrough ideas and technologies that reinforce competitiveness in the regional economy. The family-supported Kruesi Award, given by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s first community-based award for innovative products, technologies and services. From 2000 to 2001 he was the editorial and perspective correspondent for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the daily newspaper of his hometown. He served as chairman and director of the Tennessee World Trade Center from 1998 to 2000. From 1996 to 1998, Jim was director of strategic initiatives at RiverValley Partners, the public/private entity driving the economic renaissance of the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. From 1995 to 1996 in Chattanooga, he worked in affiliation with Baker, Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell, the state’s largest law firm. With former U.S. Senator Bill Brock of Tennessee, he co-founded The Brock Group, Ltd., an international trade and investment strategy consultancy in Washington, DC in 1989. As an appointee of President Ronald Reagan’s administration, he worked directly with two cabinet officers, Bill Brock and Clayton Yeutter, at the Office of the United States Trade Representative from 1981 to 1989, serving as the chief of staff from 1985 to 1989. In that capacity, his team helped craft and negotiate U.S. trade policies that launched the first bilateral free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization. Jim has a special background in Japan, where he has lived and worked on three occasions, with J. Osawa & Co., a trading company (1969; Yanagida and Sakuragi, a law firm (1977) in Tokyo; and as an instructor at the Institute for International Studies and Training in Fujinomiya (1973). Earlier Washington experience includes staff positions with the Republican National Committee from 1978 to 1981, as well as the Department of Justice in 1975 and Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee in 1968. He received an A.B. degree in History from Princeton University in 1973 and a J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1977. He is Vice Chairman of the Tennessee District Export Council, the state’s advisory committee on export development, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. Jim serves as Vice Chairman and as the public representative on the board of the Tennessee Architecture Foundation. He is a board member of the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation and the Chattanooga Technology Council. He and his spouse Patti, a former national public relations executive, and their children Will, Jack, and Anna reside on Lookout Mountain. They are members of the Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal), where Jim has served on the vestry. Jim and Patti co-chaired the 2005 campaign for Allied Arts of Chattanooga.
Ms. Haslach is a Career Minister of the Senior Foreign Service. She was appointed U.S. Senior Official for APEC in June 2007. She previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic from May 2004 to May 2007. Ms. Haslach has also served as the Director, Office for Afghanistan and Economic Counselor in Islamabad, Pakistan. Ms. Haslach earned her BA in Political Science from Gonzaga University and a Masters in International Affairs from Since August, 2006, Ken Hisamoto has assumed his current title and position of Vice President, U.S. International Sales. His responsibilities include overseeing the planning and execution of international sales strategies for the U.S. region. This includes supporting U.S. based customers for their imports, exports and other global transportation needs. Ken Hisamoto began his career with FedEx in 1991. Hired in Tokyo, Japan, he worked in various management positions in functional areas including Finance, Operations and Sales. In 1997, he was assigned as Senior Sales Manager in Singapore for the Southeast Asian Markets. Major responsibilities included converting Global Service Partners to a new licensee agreement and conversion of the sales organization in Thailand to become a directly managed market. He held this position from 1997 to 2000. In 2000, he was assigned as the Managing Director, North Pacific Region Sales. Based out of Tokyo, he was responsible for all revenue generating responsibilities of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Prior to assuming his current role, he was the U.S International Sales Director responsible for FedEx’s Western Region. He held this position from 2005 to 2006. Ken Hisamoto was born in California and raised in Japan. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration degree from California State University, Long Beach. He is fluent in both Japanese and English.
Mr. Tadashi Izawa is the newly appointed President of JETRO. Prior to joining JETRO, he was Vice-President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). He has held various senior roles within Japanese governmental body, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), serving as the Deputy Director-General for International Trade Policy Bureau from 2002-2003. Mr. Izawa also served as the Economic Minister in Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. from 2000-2002.
Dr. Vinh Nguyen is the President and CEO of Macronetics, a business software solution company based in Vienna, VA. Macronetics' software solutions, based on Dr. Nguyen's patent-pending state-driven process engine technology, have been successfully deployed in multiple industry verticals including financial services, energy, retail, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. In addition to running Macronetics, he is busy with spinning out vertical-specific business units and international business development focusing on Europe and the Pacific Rim. Prior to founding Macronetics, Dr. Nguyen served in executive and technical leadership positions at leading technology orgnizations including BMC Software, MITRE, Schlumberger, and Knight-Ridder Information. Dr. Nguyen holds a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. Mr. Toshihisa Takata joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) in 1976. He has served in several countries during the course of his career at MOFA, including United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, EC, Korea and most recent in Thailand as Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission of Embassy of Japan. Prior to assuming the current position in 2006, Mr. Takata was Deputy Director-General of Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at MOFA from 2005-2006.
Mr. Naoshi Yamauchi is Director for Business Development in Asia for Lulu Enterprises, which he joined in May 2007. Lulu’s business focuses on breaking down traditional entry barriers to publishing, and enables content creators and owners to bring their work directly to their audience. Its online digital marketplace, Lulu.com, has users in more than 80 countries. Mr. Yamauchi holds an MBA from North Carolina State College of Management with concentrations in marketing and product innovation.
Joshua Ziff is CEO of Bridge Semiconductor, a Pittsburgh-based designer and marketer of thermal imaging systems. Prior, he was a VP and SBU manager for Medrad. His Japan experience includes technology transfer and working with many distributors, OEM customers and strategic partners. Mr. Ziff received B.S. in Engineering and M.S. in Nuclear Engineering degrees from Purdue University where he was elected to Tau Beta Pi. He also earned a MBA with Distinction from Carnegie Mellon University. |
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