Arrivals & Departures

Arrivals Lounge 01

Name: Warwick Wright
Nationality: Australian
Family: Married with two children
Personality: Competitive, enthusiastic and collaborative
Company: Deutsche Bank Group
Job Title: Head of Global Execution Services (Japan)
Arrived in Japan: October 2007
Moved From: London, UK
Comment on moving to Japan: I’m looking forward to seeing more of rural Japan and meeting new friends, watching our children integrate into the Japanese culture, and welcoming our third child (due in July).
Business Aims: To expand our current business and to identify new opportunities for growth.
Interests: I enjoy mountaineering, ocean swimming and I just finished riding my bicycle the length of France.
Motto: Lead, follow or keep out of the way.

Arrivals Lounge 02

Name: Roman Buechler
Nationality: German
Family: Engaged
Personality: Curious, helpful, ambitious
Company: Continental Automotive Corporation
Job Title: Manager, EMC Group
Arrived in Japan: January, 2008
Moved From: Frankfurt, Germany
Experience in Japan so far: It is a very beautiful and interesting country and I have already been able to practice my hobby, “Geocaching” (treasure hunting) in and around Tokyo and Yokohama.
Comment on moving to Japan: The Japanese market is a real challenge because of the unique demographics and the dominance of the domestic advertising agencies.
Looking forward to: Food, culture, learning a lot about Asia and Japan.
Hobbies: Sports, Geocaching, Honda Ape.
Motto: Only the dead fish goes with the flow.

Arrivals Lounge 03

Name: Jimmy Cho
Nationality: Korean
Family: Married with two daughters
Personality: Trustworthy, dependable, approachable
Company: MHD Diageo Moet Hennessy Japan
Job Title: Marketing Director
Arrived in Japan: December, 2007
Moved From: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Business objectives in Japan: Improve the current state of the business, build a stronger local team and establish a solid base for further future growth. ­
Reaction to moving to Japan: I grew up in Japan as a boy and am very excited to be here again, it’s like coming back home. In terms of business, I am ready to embrace this new opportunity.
Motto: Stay curious and enrich knowledge all the time.

Arrivals Lounge 04

Name: Brian Smoyer
Nationality: US
Family: Married with one daughter
Personality: Loyal, hard-working, curious
Company: Shinsei Bank
Job Title: Deputy Managing Director, International Principal Finance Division
Arrived in Japan: September, 2007
Moved From: Frankfurt, Germany
Business objectives in Japan: Help Shinsei Bank grow and diversify into new business opportunities outside of Japan.
Reaction to moving to Japan: I’m looking forward to the (comparatively) nice weather, the good food, and convenient lifestyle.
Motto: Do not hurry, do not rest (Goethe).

Departure Lounge 01

Name: Carlos Olmos
Nationality: Mexican
Personality: Leader, open-minded, independent
Company: NKK Tubes
Job Title: Tenaris IT Senior Manager Far East Region
Arrived in Japan: May 2006
Moving to: North America
Business lesson learned in Japan: In Japan, "No" means "NO." There is not even a chance that it can be changed to a "maybe."
Happiest moment in Japan: When I could order pizza (in Japanese) by myself, even though I am not a Japanese speaker at all (thank you Sanae for your help and support!).
Interests: After two years in Japan, I’ve started to play videogames and also, assembling some Gundam models.
Motto: There is no such thing as a free lunch; you have to give something in return for it.

Departure Lounge 02

Name: Arnaud van den Bossche
Nationality: French
Family: Single
Personality: Hard-working, hard-playing, adventurous
Company: Texas Instruments
Job Title: Program Manager
Arrived in Japan: November, 2004
Moving to: Taiwan
Best experiences in Japan: Learning the language and history, making new friends. I enjoyed playing rugby for the Tokyo Gaijin and the All French teams.
Advice for those arriving in Japan: Learn the language. Also, people say that Japanese consumers are very different but once you go under the surface, their expectations are similar to everywhere else.
Hobbies: Surfing, rugby, mountaineering.
Recommended reading on Japan: The Sword and the Chrysanthemum by Ruth Benedict and The Japanese Chronicles by Nicolas Bouvier.

Departure Lounge 03

Name: Mark Devadason
Nationality: British
Family: Married with two children
Personality: Intuitive, creative and energetic
Company: Standard Chartered Bank, Japan
Job Title: CEO
Arrived in Japan: September, 2003
Moving to: Bangkok, Thailand
Biggest business achievement in Japan: Leading the bank's strategic expansion into Wealth Management during the period late 2003 to 2005 when many banks were still very negative on the prospects.
Lessons learned in the Japanese market: There is more to running a business than just the numbers. It is about balancing the complementary forces of developing people, strong governance, the responsibilities to your stakeholders, including the community.

Departure Lounge 04

Name: Ivo Brasil
Nationality: Brazilian
Family: Single
Personality: Active, organized, creative
Company: Vale
Job Title: Manager
Arrived in Japan: January, 2005
Moving to: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Happiest experiences in Japan: Exploring Japan, from seeing the snow festival in Hokkaido to going scuba diving down in Okinawa.
Advice for those arriving in Japan: People here are very organized and it is very safe. But this also means you need to be careful, try and blend in and don’t just stick to foreign ways and the expatriate community.
Hobbies: Golf, scuba diving, online presence.
Most influential book: Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne.