Powering social good

Having redefined its mission as a "social innovation business", Japanese conglomerate Hitachi is tackling issues faced by society. And that, says the company's vice president Kojin Nakakita, is what "contributing to society" truly means.

Mindy Tan

Published Fri, Sep 20, 2019 · 09:50 PM

ASK Kojin Nakakita to talk about himself and the chairman of Hitachi Asia immediately says he is an ice hockey player, after opening with a rather enigmatic "I've had a bit of a different life from everyone else".

His accent too is hard to place. It is definitely Japanese but mixed with something else, and peppered generously with colloquialisms like "man" - enunciated with a full-on Southern twang - to convey exasperated disbelief.

It is probably safe to say that this Hitachi lifer - who is vice president and executive officer at the Japanese conglomerate, and concurrently serving as chairman of Hitachi Asia and Hitachi India - did not see corporate life as his future when he was a young boy.

Introduced to ice hockey from the age of six, Mr Nakakita started travelling at 12 to Canada for training during the summer holidays. At 15, he moved to Vancouver (and later Wilcox, Saskatchewan) to pursue a career as a professional ice hockey player.…

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