2012 Award Winners
Steinbeis quality on the Japanese market
Special Prize Winner Sachihiko Kobori
Sachihiko Kobori was born in Tokyo in 1951 and has been President of Steinbeis Japan Inc. since 1999. After studying economics and obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree, he undertook a research internship at the Environmental Planning Institute in California, USA.
In 1976, he spent a year as Deputy Director at the Miami Beach Redevelopment Agency, where he coordinated multidisciplinary teams of consultants.
From 1977 to 1992, he worked as a researcher at Oceanautes Inc., where he developed new maritime Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that enable the theoretical quantification of relationships between fisheries data and environmental characteristics. He has been Managing Director of Oceanautes Inc. since 1992.
From 1982 to 2000, he served as Deputy Representative of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs in Japan. In 1994, he was appointed Representative of the Steinbeis Transfer Centre for International Technological Cooperation in Japan, and in 1996, Representative of the Steinbeis Foundation in Japan. He held these posts until 1996 and 1999 respectively. In addition to his teaching role at Steinbeis University Berlin, Sachihiko Kobori also taught project management at the Kyushu University Career Development Centre and in various companies.
Sachihiko Kobori heads Steinbeis Japan Inc., which serves as the headquarters for the global Steinbeis network, coordinating the networks of Japanese experts. As a consultancy firm, Steinbeis Japan Inc. offers services in the areas of new business development, project management, international business development and technology transfer, as well as regional development and project management. It supports over 30 companies from Germany, the USA and Asia in addressing management and technical issues within the Japanese market.
The Kobori family has been associated with Steinbeis since the foundation’s inception. Sachihiko Kobori’s father, Kiyoshi Kobori, served as Baden-Württemberg’s representative in Japan during the tenure of the former Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg, Lothar Späth. The successful collaboration between Steinbeis and Sachihiko Kobori is based not only on very high standards of quality, but also on a relationship built on trust and personal rapport.