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- Could you tell me What kind of job are you assigned to at the Chicago office of Sumitomo Corporation of America?
- My main assignment is to dig up companies which may become targets of our new investment projects, and analyze industries to which these companies belong and their potential market sizes. I am also assigned to re-evaluate the asset situations of the targeted companies. The purpose of the evaluation is to judge whether or not the targeted companies really deserve investment. I am also in charge of providing support to business corporations in which our company has already invested. Before joining Sumitomo Corporation, I worked at an IT company as a computer engineer, and was also employed at a hedge fund and an investment bank. I feel that in my present jobs I can effectively use all the skills and expertise I have acquired at these companies. Specifically, jobs at Sumitomo Corporation include confirming computer systems of business corporations, making stock investment analysis－using methods I learned at the hedge fund－and using macroeconomic, bond market and legal knowledge, which I built up while working at the investment bank.
A picture of Sumitomo Corp.oration of America employees taken on July 9, 2009 when Mr. Kato, President and CEO of Sumitomo Corp.oration, visited the Chicago office.
- How do you like the work atmosphere of Sumitomo Corporation of America?
- Since graduating from college, I have worked for several U.S. companies. When I started working at Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese company, I noticed several differences with the previous companies. One of the differences is that the corporate leaders at Sumitomo Corporation take a more cautious approach in decision-making than at the U.S. companies I worked for. But what is interesting at Sumitomo Corporation is that once a business policy for a certain project is decided, all employees execute their assigned work while understanding what they are supposed to do under the project plan. At U.S. companies, business gets started based solely on a decision made by a single leader. If the decision generates the intended results, everything will be OK. But if it turns out to be a failure, all those working under the leader take the blame for it. By comparing the two different decision-making styles, I am not saying one is good and one bad. What I am saying is that there is a difference. But I felt bewildered when I first encountered the different style at Sumitomo Corporation. American workers at our company appear to have good understanding of Japan, which gives me the impression they are more “Japanized” than other ordinary Americans. I feel that employees dispatched to Sumitomo Corporation of America from Japan also have deep understanding about the United States, which appears to have resulted in deepening mutual understanding between the Japanese expatriates and the local American staffers.
Winter can get very cold in Chicago. The thermometer above shows -10F. (-23.3C)
- What are your hobbies?
- I am fond of playing with my 7-year-old son. My son is my treasure. In daily life, I communicate with him in English. But he also attends a local Japanese-language school. As a result, he has now started to speak Japanese.
This picture was taken during a family trip to Cozmel Island in Mexico. I played chess with my son on the beach.
