Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 5:30PM - 9:00PM
ENGLISH
Partner Event
Organization Name: Keizai Society

In the 1980s, Japanese export products ruled the world, in particular in household electronics. Now one is hard-pressed to find a Japanese brand name, especially in new product categories. Pundits have suggested that Japan "has lost it," referring to both clever product commercialization and innovation. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. Some Japanese companies may have lost out, but there are new pockets of Japanese leadership in hi-tech materials and components that are critical to the superior performance of end products. This is not only happening in electronics, but also in transportation, machinery, and green technologies. Professor Schaede will explain Japan's indispensable role in the global supply chain by putting the spotlight on these new areas of innovation and technological leadership, and by analyzing management practices of these "New Japan" leaders. She will be joined by panelists from such leading companies who will lay out the opportunities and challenges they see in being "superstars" from Japan, and from an American company who can provide a perspective from the procurement point of view.

Fees and Registration

$15: Early Registration, for first 30 people, by Saturday, April 27 (11:00 pm)
Please take advantage of early bird discount. Quantity is limited so act fast! We sold out at our last forum so register now.
$20: Regular Registration by Saturday, May 11 (11:00 pm)
$35: Late Registration by Tuesday, May 14 (12:00 noon)
$50: Walk-ins (Seats are limited and may not be available)
Food, including sushi and beverages, will be served.

Click here to register

Featured Panelists and Moderator

Ulrike Schaede is Professor of Japanese Business at the University of California, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS). She studies Japan's corporate strategy, business organization, management, financial markets, and government-business relations. Her book Choose and Focus: Japanese Business Strategies for the 21st Century (Cornell UP, 2008) explains the strategic inflection point of the early 2000s, when Japan's business architecture began to change. Her current research concerns the management practices of what she calls "New Japan" companies that have assumed global supply chain leadership in materials and components. She also works on corporate restructuring, changing human resource practices, and entrepreneurship in Japan.

Professor Schaede holds an M.A. from Bonn University, and a PhD from the Philipps-Universtät in Marburg, Germany. She is trilingual and has spent a total of more than eight years of research and study in Japan. She has been a visiting scholar at the research institutes of the Bank of Japan, Japan's Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Development Bank of Japan. Before joining UCSD in 1994, Schaede held academic positions in Germany (Philipps-Universtät Marburg) and Japan (Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo).

Kurt Kelty is the Director of Supply Chain for Tesla Motors' powertrain and the Director of Battery Technology. As head of Supply Chain, Kurt is responsible for the purchasing of all components that comprise the powertrain. This includes motors, chargers, inverters, gearbox and batteries. His battery team is responsible for setting and implementing Tesla's battery cell usage strategy. Mr. Kelty is responsible for the technical exchanges and commercial negotiations with each of the battery cell suppliers and early stage battery cell developers. He is particularly focused on evaluating the safety, performance and reliability of cells.

Mr. Kelty's team validates the pack performance under extreme environmental conditions that might be observed in the vehicle application. He also leads the battery pack recycling and regulatory efforts at Tesla. He is a member of SAEJ2929 Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Propulsion Battery System Safety Standard to create abuse standards for vehicle battery packs.

Before joining Tesla, Mr. Kelty worked for Panasonic for nearly fifteen years, seven of those years in Japan. At Panasonic, Mr. Kelty worked in various planning and marketing capacities related to Ni-MH and Li-ion batteries. During the last 5 years, he founded and led Panasonic's battery research lab in Silicon Valley and created R&D alliances between Panasonic and other battery and fuel cell developers in the U.S.

He is the author of over 20 patents.

Mr. Kelty received his B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College in 1986 and his MSc from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1997.

Mark Slezak is Vice President of Sales & Technology at JSR Micro, Inc. where he oversees the sales, customer service, and technology development of JSR's next generation product lines and advanced semiconductor materials solutions.

Mark is tasked with setting strategies to grow revenue at key accounts in the US, as well as leveraging the technology influence these accounts have on the global semiconductor materials market. This including supporting multinational customers, as well as working to continually improve internal systems and guide resources within JSR Corporation's Semiconductor Operation in Japan. Since joining JSR Micro in 1998, Mark has been instrumental in the development and commercialization of the company's advanced photolithography materials, such as photoresists, SiARC, organic underlayers, anti-reflective coatings, immersion topcoats, photo-pat ternable low-k, and other supporting materials. In addition to managing the US lithography efforts, Mark oversees JSR's CMP consumables and Packaging materials businesses.

Mark has spent time developing new technologies at IMEC research facility in Europe conducting early research on 193nm photoresists, and at JSR's Japanese R&D center, focusing on immersion topcoats and advanced 193nm resist platforms. He has published numerous lithography papers and holds multiple patents for photoresist and ancillary development work. Mark is a team builder who combines strong business and technical acumen with excellent relationship skills.

Mark has his undergraduate degree in Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and has recently completed Executive Leadership Development course work through Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Tomoya Yamashiki specializes in Nano/Clean/Green technology and focuses his efforts on establishing strong technical partnerships with Asian, especially Japanese firms. With more than 20 years of experience in nanotechnology entrepreneurship and strategic planning, Tomoya identifies niche markets and formulate strategic plans to grow emerging nano-based businesses. Before moving to Silicon Valley, Dr. Yamashiki was a leading scientist and engineer at the Toray Group where he developed numerous applications for nanotechnology materials and fine process technologies. He also launched several business based on fundamental research in the areas of phase change type rewritable optical memories, and photo-sensitive ceramic/glass materials for electronic packaging. Later, as a strategic planning manager at Toray, he was involved in many large M&A transactions. During his tenure with Toray in Silicon Valley, he founded and established its Corporate Venture Capital function, and designed and executed its Open Innovation System. From 2003 to 2006 while working at Toray he also had the opportunity to do research at RIKEN. Based on key discoveries he made there, he co-founded FLOX Corporation, a startup using fullerenes for more efficient photo-catalysis, and became its managing director.

Dr. Yamashiki holds Ph.D. in Physics with emphasis in condensed matter and material science from the University of Tokyo. As a visiting scholar at Stanford University, he recently led a research study on entrepreneurship efforts between the US and Japan.

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