Join us in celebrating Keizai Silicon Valley’s 2016 Shinnenkai (New Year’s Reception) on Friday, January 29th at 5:30 pm at the Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club.
This year, we honor “the Orchid King” Mr. Andy Matsui with the Keizai Silicon Valley Lifetime Achievement Award, and we present the Economic Innovation Award to his daughter, Ms. Kathy M. Matsui, chief Japan equity strategist and co-head of Asia Investment Research, Goldman Sachs.
In a dialog between Andy and Kathy, we’ll hear how Andy combined Japanese values with American entrepreneurship in creating major new markets in the flower industry, and how he has transferred the lessons of his success first to his family and then through the Matsui Foundation scholarship program for children of farm workers. Joining us from Tokyo, Kathy has been ranked No. 1 in Japan Equity Strategy by Institutional Investor magazine in 2000, 2001 and 2006, and she was chosen by the Wall Street Journal as one of the “10 Women to Watch in Asia” for her work on the “Womenomics” theme. Kathy also maintains the family tradition of active nonprofit service.
We will be performing our traditional Kagamiwari (sake barrel “breaking”) ceremony. The Consul General of Japan, Mr. Jun Yamada is expected to lead this tradition.
Toshikiyo “Andy” Matsui was born into a traditional Japanese farm family in Nara Prefecture. As a young man, he participated in Ministry of Agriculture training programs that sent him to California and introduced him to new possibilities. In 1964, he immigrated to the United States, along with his wife and first daughter. He and his wife worked as laborers in Japanese-owned flower nurseries in the Bay Area until they were able to start their own operations in leased greenhouses.
In 1969, Andy bought 50 acres of land outside Salinas to establish his own nursery. Over the years, Andy earned a reputation as a top-quality flower grower with a knack for innovation and industry leadership. He successfully guided Matsui Nursery through multiple product transformations in response to changing business conditions.
Today, Matsui Nursery’s 2.8 million square feet of greenhouse space is devoted to potted orchid production. It serves major national grocery store chains as well as specialty floral retailers. It offers the greatest selection of orchid varieties of any large-scale commercial orchid nursery in the country.
In 2004, Andy established his Matsui Foundation as his way to support the educational aspirations of underserved students in the Salinas Valley. Starting with the grant of a scholarship to a single graduating high school senior that year, it has distributed more than $5 million in college scholarships. Among numerous accolades bestowed over the years, in 2011 Andy was recognized as Outstanding Philanthropist in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties.
Andy and his wife Yasuko, a renowned chado student and private instructor, reside in Pebble Beach. They have four children, all of whom graduated from Harvard University, and four grandchildren.
Kathy is vice chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, co-head of Macro Research in Asia and chief Japan equity strategist. She serves as a member of the Asia Pacific Management Committee. Kathy joined Goldman Sachs in 1994 and was named managing director in 1998 and partner in 2000.
Kathy was ranked No. 1 in Japan Equity Strategy by Institutional Investor magazine in multiple years, she was chosen by The Wall Street Journal newspaper as one of the "10 Women to Watch in Asia" for her work on the "Womenomics" theme, and she was also named to Bloomberg Markets magazine’s “50 Most Influential” list in 2014.
Prior to joining the firm, Kathy worked as the chief Japan strategist for Barclays de Zoete Wedd Securities for four years, and she worked at the Export-Import Bank of Japan’s Washington, DC, office for two years. She serves as a policy commentator for Japan’s Cabinet Office and has served on numerous Japanese government committees aimed at promoting gender diversity.
Kathy is a board member of the Asian University for Women (AUW) Support Foundation, a member of Keizai Doyukai, a member of the Board of Councilors of the US-Japan Council, a trustee of the American School in Japan and a trustee of The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii. She also serves on the Advisory Council for the Japan Society Fund Against Breast Cancer.
Kathy earned an AB, magna cum laude, in Social Studies from Harvard University and an MA from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. She has conducted research on Japanese foreign policy at Kobe University Graduate School on a Rotary Scholarship.
South Bay native Mike Inouye is NBC Bay Area's weekday morning traffic anchor.
Mike Inouye’s roots are in technology. He first joined NBC Bay Area as an Internet Reporter. He then served as an IT Technician at the station before making the jump from behind the scenes to in front of the camera. Reporting on traffic for Bay Area commuters, he says he finally has a job that encompasses his passion for technology, communication, and live performance.
As a performer, Mike has appeared at clubs ranging from the Comedy Store© in Hollywood to ComedySportz© San José, where he sometimes still performs as a professional improvisational comedian, as well as on-stage in roles with assorted Bay Area theater companies. His technology and performance skills have led to voice-over roles in games for Playstation 2, Xbox and other popular systems. Active in the local community, Mike is also frequently called upon to host live events, from local Japanese-American and Asian-American community events, to NBC Bay Area's Peacock Pavilion at festivals all around the Bay Area.
Mike is an alumnus of Mountain View High School and received his degree in Linguistics from the University of California Los Angeles. In his spare time, he enjoys playing with digital photography and spending time with his wife and young son.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016
| RECEPTION | 5:30 P.M. – 6:30 P.M. |
| PROGRAM: | 6:30 P.M. – 9:30 P.M. |
