The Gaijin-in-Chief speaks...

David Johnson began by saying that his mission was to bring the passion of Yokogawa's culture to the end users. "Next year will be our 50th year in North America. The breadth of who we are," he said, "is amazing and most people in North America have never seen it. We have been understated." No kidding. Understated is an understatement. "One of our strongest assets is Isao Uchida." That is a true statement. Uchida-san is the most dynamic leader of any automation company. I have been trying for a couple of years to get him to agree to allow me to interview him for a Process Automation Radio Network podcast, without success. Why do I want to do this? Because the man is one of the best public speakers I have ever met, and his true humble and human self comes through vividly when you speak to him in person, or when you hear him speak in a relatively small group. Unfortunately, I have been, as yet, unsuccessful in getting him to agree to do this. But I will keep trying. If we are serious about attracting highly qualified young people to this industry, we need to show them that we are fun to be around, and Uchida-san can certainly do that.