Retired Chairman and CEO
From the Japanese internment camp in Manzanar to a racially imbalanced school district in Pasadena, Koichi Nishimura's resilient character has helped him surmount the challenges he's encountered in life. At 14, he began living independently and developed acute survival and leadership instincts that would serve him throughout his life.
Competitive sports are a metaphor for Nishimura's success. In high school, Nishimura played varsity football and ran track. Only an injury curtailed his athletic career while in junior college. His quest for knowledge and love of learning led him to San José State, where he found a welcoming and diverse environment. A keen observer, he understood early on that "one must play with and learn from the best." From the beginning, Nishimura understood that teamwork is imperative.
Nishimura's high-tech career catapulted at IBM where he worked for 23 years, completing his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford as well. In 1988, he joined Solectron as COO. Within seven years, he rapidly ascended to become President, CEO and Chairman of the Board. Nishimura's legacy at Solectron is the transformation of the regional company into the world's largest and most profitable electronics manufacturing services company.
Nishimura draws heavily from his Japanese culture to live his life and inspire his work. Using hoshin kanri,
a Japanese policy deployment method, Nishimura's team implemented rigorous manufacturing and business processes at Solectron, which culminated in the company winning the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in 1991 and 1997. First and foremost, Nishimura believes in customer service and from this stems his commitment to quality. For him, quality is simply "a way of life."
Ultimately, what does Nishimura care about most? People. Building human capital is his greatest achievement. According to Nishimura, "it's not how high you get, it's how many people you bring along."He also believes that he's not accomplished his success alone: his grandparents, mentors and colleagues have been instrumental in his achievements. In turn, Nishimura dedicates himself to helping others achieve their successes, their aspirations... their dreams.
ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING
