36: Glen Fukushima Ex-CEO Airbus Japan

<p>Once on the Board of Governors for the American Chamber of Commerce Japan, being Vice-President for six years and President for two, Glen Fukushima has an incredible wealth of knowledge in business, government and law. Studying at the prestigious Stanford and Harvard university, Mr. Fukushima worked in government including the Office of the United States Trade Representative where he was heavily involved in US-Japan trade negotiations. He then transitioned into the private sector, becoming Vice-President of AT&T Japan, President and CEO of Arthur D. Little, President and Chairman of Cadence Design Systems Japan, President, CEO, Chairman and Director of Airbus Japan, and now Senior Fellow at Center for American Progress.</p> <p> </p> <p>Despite his experience in negotiation, Mr. Fukushima explains that leading a Japanese organization with a global headquarter had many challenges, largely due to different expectations and way of operation. For example, Mr. Fukushima recalls his struggle to convince headquarters to adjust the performance evaluation system in Japan and avoid firing people for being bad performers like they did in the US. He also found difficulty navigating between headquarters who expected detailed reports from him on business in Japan, and his direct reports, who only expected him to manage higher-level matters.</p> <p> </p> <p>To deal with such challenges, Mr. Fukushima notes the importance of understanding Japanese values and respecting long-term relationships, as well as producing results. Mr. Fukushima also drew heavily on his diverse experience working in other American and European companies to persuade headquarters on how things are done differently in Japan. Additionally, Mr. Fukushima encouraged his Japanese team to interact with others outside of Japan on occasions such as regional meetings and visiting headquarters to establish better relations and broaden both cultures’ perspectives.</p> <p> </p> <p>To encourage innovation, Mr. Fukushima worked on changing the Japanese risk-averse min