Stryker exec to discuss Japanese sales strategies
Nov. 1, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- What does it take to sell a product in Japan? The president of Stryker Japan will be on the Western Michigan University campus next week to share the secrets of his company's success.
WMU alumnus Yoshiaki Nakazawa will present "Stryker Japan: Successful Selling--Japanese Style" at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the University's Fetzer Center. Stryker Chairman and CEO John Brown will be a special guest at the presentation, which is the second in the 2001-02 Japanese Business Speaker Series. Nakazawa's talk will be followed by a reception, or "rentai," in downtown Kalamazoo at Creative Ink, 224 East Michigan Ave.
As president of Stryker Japan, Nakazawa leads more than 500 employees in his division, which has 10 sales offices in Japan and is the country's largest seller of surgical instruments. A Fortune 500 company, Stryker Corp. develops, manufactures and markets specialty surgical and medical products worldwide. The company is renowned for its consistent 20 percent annual growth rate.
Nakazawa first worked for Stryker as an intern while he was a student at WMU. He came to the University after graduating from Keio University in Tokyo, initially intending to stay for just one year. Instead, Nakazawa ended up earning his bachelor's degree in business administration from WMU, and, after landing a permanent post with Stryker, he continued his studies at the Western Michigan, eventually earning an MBA as well.
Nakazawa's talk is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested and can be made by calling Dr. F. William McCarty, professor of finance and commercial law in the Haworth College of Business, at (616) 387-5857 or by e-mailing <william.mccarty@wmich.edu>. Those who wish to attend the reception must RSVP by Friday, Nov. 2.
The speaker series is one of seven key elements of Focus Japan, a WMU project funded by a recent two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Led by McCarty and Dr. Hideko Abe, assistant professor of Asian and Middle Eastern languages, Focus Japan aims to strengthen the University's study of Japan's language, culture and business environment.
Media contact: Jessica English, 616 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu
