ABOUT KEIZAI

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Chimmy Shioya President, Keizai Silicon Valley
Chimmy Shioya
President, Keizai Silicon Valley

Greetings from the President (2020)

Welcome to Keizai Silicon Valley’s annual Shinnenkai. On behalf of the board of directors, we welcome you to our kick-off event for the year.

This year marks our 30th anniversary and it is a major milestone for an NPO that is operated solely by volunteers. Originally named “Kaisha Society,” it was founded by those who returned from Tokyo to San Francisco and the Bay Area to share each other’s work experiences and to build a network for the US-Japan business community. Founding members included Craig Justice, Mark Dispenza, Peter Thompson, and a few others. Kaisha Society was then rebranded as Keizai Society and then to Keizai Silicon Valley since 2015. Over the years, Keizai has grown to be recognized as the biggest US-Japan business organization in the SF/South Bay community and has remained as the bridge and force influencing US-Japan business relations.

This milestone could not have been achieved without the service and dedication of many volunteers. While there are too many to thank at this 30th anniversary, I would like to especially mention Nadine Grant, who is retiring this year. Since 1995, Nadine served as President for 13 years, then President Emeritus and board member for 12 years. We would like to sincerely thank her and convey our appreciation for her three decades of services.

This year, we are honoring two remarkable individuals:

  • Mr. Guy Kawasaki with Keizai Silicon Valley Distinguished Achievement Award for his many contributions to Silicon Valley. In particular, he popularized the word evangelist in marketing the Macintosh as an “Apple evangelist” and expanded the concepts of evangelism in high tech marketing. In addition, he is also an author and Silicon Valley venture capitalist.
  • We are also presenting Mr. Kaname Hayashi, Founder and CEO of Groove X with the Outstanding Innovation Award for his leadership in developing and marketing robots to meet the needs of society.

Keizai Silicon Valley’s mission continues to promotion of business between the US and Japan by presenting trendy topics and conducting meaningful discussions and debates. Recent examples include:

  • Drones: Current Uses and Future Trends
  • Automated Food
  • The Privacy Tsunami!
  • Market Trends of Industrial Robotics

We hope you were able to attend some of these forums, and obtain useful insights. In addition, we hosted several networking-only events which were very popular for forging new contacts. As we enter the new decades, we continue to explore new areas and formats.

We offer sincere gratitude for continued support from the Japanese Consulate, our sponsors, and, most importantly, from you, our Friends of Keizai.

We also want to express our deep and sincere thanks to the volunteers of Keizai Silicon Valley. These individuals generously donate countless hours to Keizai activities.

We wish you all a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2020!

Chimmy Shioya
President & Board Member
Keizai Silicon Valley

Testimonials

VOLUNTEER NOW

Yuka Nagashima

Program Manager

As a recent transplant to Silicon Valley, it was challenging to choose from so many opportunities to meet people and continue to learn. I was fortunate to have multiple people recommend Keizai Silicon Valley’s events as a great way to network with people interested in doing business with Japan or with connections to Japan. Because Silicon Valley is so big, it is easy to feel lost, but at Keizai SV, I felt welcomed by staff and other attendees who seemed genuine in their well wishes and intellectually curious about the topics its programs explored. That’s when I decided to join as a volunteer member. It has been such a pleasure working with other committed volunteer staff to bring quality events to this community. It is this type of group that adds diversity to Silicon Valley, a different perspective that adds to its innovation ecosystem.

VOLUNTEER NOW

Gregory Bennett

Social Media Manager

I moved back to the Bay Area shortly after graduate school, and I involved myself with Keizai to expand my network and learn more about Japan-US business relations in Silicon Valley. Upon joining the staff, I was welcomed by a highly inspiring, innovative, and positive group of leaders who consistently provide me a new, fresh perspective on the corporate world outside of school and the myriad forms it can take in practice. Volunteering at Keizai has been thrilling and educational every step of the way and I thoroughly enjoy contributing my work to the organization in the realm of social media. I highly recommend it to those who are new to the Bay Area or are seeking to grow their network and expand their approaches to professional life.

VOLUNTEER NOW

Tim Koide

Program Manager

Keizai Silicon Valley provides me with an opportunity to view Silicon Valley from the perspective of its role as a global innovation hub–a unique catch-all for the talent and ideas of the world. Through its events and fora, it allows me to stay informed of and connected to the movements of Japanese entities in the Valley, and gives me the network and architecture necessary to help facilitate dialogue and exchange between stakeholders from Japan and the rest of the world represented here.

WHO WE ARE

Keizai Silicon Valley is a Silicon Valley based business and professional networking NPO organization.  Its primary purpose is to provide opportunities for executives and professionals to develop the knowledge and human networks for successful US-Japan business. We provide 1) forums that showcase specialists with expertise on issues critical to the success of entrepreneurs and companies and 2) networking events, such as Shinnenaki (New Year’s Reception), Summer networking, Oktoberfest, and other happy hours, ranging from the largest US-Japan business community event with over 300 people to a casual happy hour event with 30 to 50 people.

AWARDS

January 29, 2010 Contribution Award from Yasumasa Nagamine, the Consul General of Japan in San Francisco
January 29, 2010
Contribution Award from Yasumasa Nagamine, the Consul General of Japan in San Francisco

Keizai Silicon Valley (fka. Keizai Society) was proud to receive a Contribution Award from Yasumasa Nagamine, the Consul General of Japan in San Francisco. This award recognizes Keizai for its contributions to strengthening the business relationship between Japan and the US.

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide opportunities for executives and professionals to develop the knowledge and human networks for successful US-Japan business.

OUR HISTORY

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