Secondmind affirms its commitment to Asian automotive market
Secondmind is pleased to announce the appointment of Tomohiro Inoue as its VP of Customer Success and Country Manager in Japan. In his new role, Inoue will lead Secondmind’s business development in the region, establishing the company’s automotive business in Asia, and extending its work in engine calibration to other applications designed to optimize fuel efficiency and emissions, calibrate transmission controls and improve EV battery management. He will be based at the company’s new Japanese offices in Yokohama.
Inoue has been immersed in popularising innovative technologies and automotive products between Asia and the rest of the world for 30+ years, with experience including sales, logistics management, factory operations, finance at large enterprises in Japan, US, Mexico, Korea, as well as numerous Japan and Korea business launches for US, European and Israeli start-ups.
He has extensive experience working with multiple automotive businesses ranging from global procurement and logistics of components for Ford and General Motors, to component manufacturing, and to business development and sales of ECU software solutions. He led business development in the APAC region at HERE Technologies, launching multiple new businesses in the region, including its Korea business, traffic services, navigation software and ADAS applications.
Most recently, as Country Manager he was responsible for launching and then leading Argus Cyber Security, a leading automotive cybersecurity company for connected cars and autonomous vehicles, in Japan and Korea, building teams to fulfill regional needs of OEMs, and grew the region to a multi-million Euros business in two years.
In the last 12 months, Secondmind has been expanding its work in Japan, including entering into a strategic partnership agreement with Mazda at the end of 2020. The agreement explores how Secondmind can significantly reduce engine calibration time and aims to accelerate time to market for Mazda’s industry leading fuel-efficient cars
Carl Rasmussen, Chief Scientist and Chairman of Secondmind Board, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tomo to the Secondmind team - he brings with him exceptional understanding of the automotive market, and has proven delivery skills that will help fuel our next stage of growth. This appointment will help expand our presence in the Japanese automotive market and mean we can deliver our global expertise and AI technology to our Japanese customers through a local team. ”
Tomohiro Inoue, VP of Customer Success and Country Manager in Japan at Secondmind, said: “We are proud that Secondmind technology is being recognised and adapted by multiple automotive companies, starting with our strategic alliance with Mazda. Through the establishment of Secondmind K.K., we will accelerate customer collaboration by providing timely technical support of our products, bridging business and cultural gaps between Japanese automotive customers and our headquarters in the UK. My mission is to lower barriers for Japanese automotive customers to adopt Secondmind AI technologies and to disrupt their development efficiency.”