The first time I came to Japan was in 1985 when I joined the Roland DG Corp. where I remained a senior executive for 30 years. Since then, I have experienced the different economic cycles of Japan; its transformation and gradual openness to globalization, now “Society 5.0”, while maintaining its main values and culture

I do believe luck depends on one’s efforts to make things happen and being surrounded by talented and enthusiastic people driven by the purpose of making a better world. When everybody shares, everybody wins. This is something that is perfectly valid in the new era of artificial intelligence and the “internet of things,” where robots and smart devices will change the way we work and live... for the best.

Together with a great team, we managed to make our company a world leader in its sector, and take it through three successful digital transformations. This occurred while developing great talent in the organization to ensure business continuity after our retirement as executives. After my 30-year executive stage, being able to join the academic field to continue developing and sharing knowledge with new generations of leaders, entrepreneurs and managers.

My mission is to develop the leaders, entrepreneurs and managers of the future and help companies in their transformation to combine the best of people and technology, to compete in the new era. This can be done using the new concept of “people-centered technology innovation” or what we call “Technovate.” We must know how AI, the internet of things, robotics and other technologies can provide competitive value not only for business, but also for society here in Japan.

In 2018 I co-wrote a book in Spanish titled, “Wa: keys of Japanese corporate culture.” A driver of social harmony, wa governs Japanese social and organizational dynamics, and lends its name to the new Reiwa Era. Becoming familiar with wa should be the first consideration of foreigners who want to work and live happily in Japan. In music, a harmony is made up of different sounds that create a beautiful song. Respect should be the second consideration. Respect that harmony to know how to better integrate into society. The third consideration is contribution to make harmonies sound better. For this you need to surround yourself with people you trust, and get to know how to discern those, both Japanese and non Japanese, who use cultural stereotypes for their own purposes