The Board of Directors of Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) voted to elect Mr. Yasuyuki Sugiura (photo left), President of Mitsubishi International Co., and Mr. Motomu Takahashi (right), President of Mitsui & Co. (USA) Inc., both in New York, to its Advisory Committee on May 27th, 2014.
Messrs. Sugiura and Takahashi are both alumni of the Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo, and developed their careers around the international trade of iron and steel products in the two dominant general trading companies. Regarding the appointment of the two advisory members, President Hisashi Kobayashi remarks, “We are much pleased and honored to have these two most distinguished alumni as new members to our Advisory Committee. Both gentlemen are excellent role models to the UTokyo students and young alumni for their global leaderships demonstrated in their careers. Mr. Takahashi was one of the original members of FUTI’s Advisory Committee when it was created in June 2009, and we are delighted to have him again on the Committee. We are also hopeful that Mr. Sugiura will help us with FUTI as did Mr. Seiei Ono, his predecessor, who served on the Advisory Committee until last year. We are most grateful for their willingness to serve on FUTI’s advisory committee despite their extremely busy schedules in their jobs as CEOs.”
Please see below the brief profiles of the two Advisory Members:
Mr. Yasuyuki Sugiura has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas) since April 2013. He also serves as Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
Mr. Sugiura graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1978 with a B.A. degree in Economics, and began his career at Mitsubishi Corporation, in the Steel Export Department. He received his MBA degree from the International University, Niigata, Japan in 1988.
He has held many international positions at Mitsubishi Corporation and its related companies, including Mitsubishi International Corporation (MIC), New York (1991-92), Coikplus-Ohio, Inc. in Springfield, Ohio (1995-97), the MIC office in Washington DC (1997-2002), and again MIC in New York (2006-08) , where he was Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of MIC, New York.
After having served as General Manager and then Senior Vice President at Corporate Communication Department, Corporate Planning Division in the Tokyo headquarter (2008-2011), he returned to MIC, New York in 2011 and served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (2011-12) and then President and Chief Executive Officer (2012-13) , and in April 2013 he was promoted to his current position.
Mr. Sugiura serves on the Board of the New York Botanical Garden and serves as Chairman of the Board and President of Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas, and he also is on the Board of Directors of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and of The Nippon Club, both in New York.
Mr. Motomu Takahashi has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Mitsui & Co. (USA), Inc. a.k.a. Mitsui USA, since April 2014. He concurrently serves as Executive Managing Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Americas Business Unit of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Mitsui USA’s parent company in Tokyo.
Mr. Takahashi is a graduate of the University of Tokyo (B.A. Economics). He joined Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in 1977 and has built his career mainly in the company’s iron, steel, & metals businesses which involve global trade and investment activities. Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Takahashi was Mitsui & Co.’s Managing Officer and Chief Operating Officer of its Iron & Steel Products Business Unit.
Mr. Takahashi previously served in many posts overseas: Mitsui Saudi Arabia as Manager, Metals Dept. (1982-1985); Mitsui USA Chicago Office as Deputy General Manager and then as General Manager, Steel & Metals Dept. (1990-1997); Mitsui Steel Development, New York, a subsidiary of Mitsui USA, as President (2002-2004), and Mitsui USA as Senior Vice President, Steel Products Business Group, also in New York (2004-2005); Steel Technologies Inc., Louisville, KY, as Chairman of the Board (2007-2009); and Mitsui USA, New York, as Executive Vice President, concurrently serving as Managing Officer and Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Americas Business Unit (2009-2010).
In addition, in 2001 Mr. Takahashi attended the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School.
Currently, Mr. Takahashi serves as President at The Nippon Club of New York, Advisory Council at Baruch College Weissman Center for International Business and is on the Board of Directors of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York.
When the Advisory Committee of Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) was established in June 2009, Mr. Takahashi was appointed to the Committee and served as Advisory member until April 2010, when he returned to Japan.
Articles in this newsletter:
- Our New Name, Friends of UTokyo, Inc. (FUTI) is Now Official
- Mr. Yasuyuki Sugiura and Mr. Motomu Takahashi appointed as New Members of Advisory Committee
- “Go Global Study Abroad Fair 2014” held at the Komaba Campus
- FUTI Award for a Berkeley Senior who Participates in a Summer Internship Program at UTokyo
