Takeshi (Tad) Yamamoto
Jim King
Dr. Atsushi Ieki, President of Okuma Corporation, along with members of the company's board of directors, have announce personnel appointments for two of the company's leadership members to further support the company's global growth initiatives and evolving customer needs within the manufacturing industry.
Takeshi (Tad) Yamamoto will now serve in the position of Chairman of Okuma America Corporation, effective immediately. Previously, Yamamoto served as Chairman and CEO of Okuma America Corporation since July 1, 2009, after serving as executive vice president and COO for Okuma America Corporation. In addition to his Americas role, Yamamoto also serves as a member of the board of directors for Okuma Corporation (Japan), Senior Executive Officer in charge of Global Sales and Chairman and CEO of Okuma Europe GmbH.
Yamamoto started his career at Okuma Corporation (Japan) as a manufacturing engineer in 1982 after graduating from Waseda University with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering. He worked with Okuma America Corporation in operations planning from February 1994 to July 2002, and then returned to Okuma Corporation (Japan), serving in a variety of roles, including plant manager of the Kani manufacturing facility.
Jim King is promoted to the role of President, CEO and COO for Okuma America Corporation and will also now serve as a Senior Officer of Okuma Corporation (Japan), effective immediately. King previously served as President and COO for Okuma America Corporation since 2011. He originally joined the Okuma organization in January 2010 as the senior vice president of sales.
Prior to joining Okuma America Corporation, King previously served as director of channel management for Siemens Industry, based in Alpharetta, GA, vice president-sales and marketing for Nematron, based in Ann Arbor, MI, and director-business development for Source Alliance.com in Raleigh, NC. He began his career in 1980 as a sales representative for Rockwell Automation where he held positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and product development. King earned an Applied Engineering Sciences degree from Michigan State University.
When considering evolving manufacturing technologies, changing customer needs and the company's progressive growth plans, Dr. Atsushi Ieki, Okuma Corporation (Japan)'s President, shared his perspective regarding the strategic timing of the new leadership appointments: "As we pursue our mission of pushing the evolution of manufacturing and opening new possibilities for our customers for the next decade, we are strategically preparing our organization by making investments in our people, our technologies and our global footprint. The recent appointments of Mr. Yamamoto and Mr. King better position our company to exceed customer and Okuma aspirational goals."
For more information contact:
Okuma America Corporation
11900 Westhall Drive
Charlotte, NC 28278
704-588-7000
www.okuma.com