Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, Central Wing
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, Central Wing
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, Central Wing
Following the successful migration of semiconductor foundries business to Taiwan, IC design houses are now flowing to Asia. As a result, the opportunities for venture capital investments in Greater China are increasing. Based on on-the-ground experience gained during the past ten years dealing with high-tech venture businesses between Silicon Valley and Asia, Jesse Chen will share his unique perspective on the changing dynamics of risks, timing, business sectors etc. for optimizing investments in the high tech industry in Greater China.
Jesse Chen is managing director of Maton Venture. Maton is a global venture with strategic investors and VC partners from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Taiwan. Launched in October 1997, Maton now has thirty-two portfolio companies across Semiconductor, Communication, Software and other Information Technology industries. As of December 2002, three have gone public and five have been acquired. Jesse currently serves as board member for eleven companies.
Before Maton, Jesse co-founded BusLogic, Inc. in 1988 and served as CEO and president until it was acquired in 1996. BusLogic designed and marketed ASIC, Board and Software for the computer storage industry. Under Jesse's leadership, BusLogic achieved twenty-two quarters of consecutive growth and profitability, yielding BusLogic's first investor more than sixty times return of investment within six years. BusLogic is now part of IBM.
Jesse also served as chairman of the Global Monte Jade Science and Technology Association from 1998 to 2000 and served as Chairman of Monte Jade West from 1997 to 1998. Monte Jade has more than one thousand high tech corporate members throughout North America and Asia and more than fifty are public companies.
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, Central Wing
Oksenberg Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, South Wing
Japan and America's two most senior statesmen examine the Iraq and North Korea crises. How these two challenges are resolved will have profound implications for the U.S.-Japan relationship and its ability to deal with future regional and global challenges. This is the inaugural program in the Yomiuri-Japan Society Distinguished Speaker Series.
The Commonwealth Club, 595 Market Street, San Francisco
Michael Armacost (April 15, 1937 – March 8, 2025) was a Shorenstein APARC Fellow at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) from 2002 through 2021. In the interval between 1995 and 2002, Armacost served as president of Washington, D.C.'s Brookings Institution, the nation's oldest think tank and a leader in research on politics, government, international affairs, economics, and public policy. Previously, during his twenty-four-year government career, Armacost served, among other positions, as undersecretary of state for political affairs and as ambassador to Japan and the Philippines.
Armacost began his career in academia, as a professor of government at Pomona College. In 1969, he was awarded a White House Fellowship and was assigned to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of State. Following a stint on the State Department's policy planning and coordination staff, he became a special assistant to the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo from 1972 to 74, his first foreign diplomatic post. Thereafter, he held senior Asian affairs and international security posts in the State Department, the Defense Department, and the National Security Council. From 1982 to 1984, he served as U.S. ambassador to the Philippines and was a key force in helping the country undergo a nonviolent transition to democracy. In 1989, President George Bush tapped him to become ambassador to Japan, considered one of the most important and sensitive U.S. diplomatic posts abroad.
Armacost authored four books, including, Friends or Rivals? The Insider's Account of U.S.–Japan Relations (1996), which draws on his tenure as ambassador, and Ballots, Bullets, and Bargains: American Foreign Policy and Presidential Elections (2015). He also co-edited, with Daniel Okimoto, the Future of America's Alliances in Northeast Asia, published in 2004 by Shorenstein APARC. Armacost served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, including TRW, AFLAC, Applied Materials, USEC, Inc., Cargill, Inc., and Carleton College, and he currently chairs the board of The Asia Foundation.
A native of Ohio, Armacost graduated from Carleton College and earned his master's and doctorate degrees in public law and government from Columbia University. He received the President's Distinguished Service Award, the Defense Department's Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Secretary of State's Distinguished Services Award, and the Japanese government’s Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
America has called for a multilateral solution to the recent crisis on the Korean Peninsula. As a result, Russia, China and Japan have been asked to play a more active role in contributing to a peaceful resolution. Drawing on years of experience in this region, Ambassador Armacost gives us his insights into this volatile area, including prospects for change. Most recently (1995-2002), Armacost served as president of Washington D.C.'s Brookings Institution, the nation's oldest think tank and a leader in research on politics, government, international affairs, economics, and public policy. Previously, during his twenty-four year government career, Armacost served, among other positions, as undersecretary of state for political affairs and as ambassador to Japan and the Philippines. Registration: 7:30 pm Program: 8:00 pm Students with ID - Free Members of the World Affairs Council - $5 Nonmembers - $8
Stanford Law School Room 180, Stanford Campus
Michael Armacost (April 15, 1937 – March 8, 2025) was a Shorenstein APARC Fellow at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) from 2002 through 2021. In the interval between 1995 and 2002, Armacost served as president of Washington, D.C.'s Brookings Institution, the nation's oldest think tank and a leader in research on politics, government, international affairs, economics, and public policy. Previously, during his twenty-four-year government career, Armacost served, among other positions, as undersecretary of state for political affairs and as ambassador to Japan and the Philippines.
Armacost began his career in academia, as a professor of government at Pomona College. In 1969, he was awarded a White House Fellowship and was assigned to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of State. Following a stint on the State Department's policy planning and coordination staff, he became a special assistant to the U.S. ambassador in Tokyo from 1972 to 74, his first foreign diplomatic post. Thereafter, he held senior Asian affairs and international security posts in the State Department, the Defense Department, and the National Security Council. From 1982 to 1984, he served as U.S. ambassador to the Philippines and was a key force in helping the country undergo a nonviolent transition to democracy. In 1989, President George Bush tapped him to become ambassador to Japan, considered one of the most important and sensitive U.S. diplomatic posts abroad.
Armacost authored four books, including, Friends or Rivals? The Insider's Account of U.S.–Japan Relations (1996), which draws on his tenure as ambassador, and Ballots, Bullets, and Bargains: American Foreign Policy and Presidential Elections (2015). He also co-edited, with Daniel Okimoto, the Future of America's Alliances in Northeast Asia, published in 2004 by Shorenstein APARC. Armacost served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, including TRW, AFLAC, Applied Materials, USEC, Inc., Cargill, Inc., and Carleton College, and he currently chairs the board of The Asia Foundation.
A native of Ohio, Armacost graduated from Carleton College and earned his master's and doctorate degrees in public law and government from Columbia University. He received the President's Distinguished Service Award, the Defense Department's Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Secretary of State's Distinguished Services Award, and the Japanese government’s Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Japanese themselves describe the habitat for entrepreneurship in Japan as a "wasteland", a "desert." It has been decades since the world has seen the growth of Japanese corporate giants from start-up seeds. Where are the Microsofts, Oracles, SUNs, Ciscos, E-Bays? The Japanese entrepreneurial "habitat" is dysfunctional in many ways--cultural, social, personal, educational, governmental. Fixing the "habitat" is not easy because it is so multidimensional and requires coordinated industrial and governmental policies and much cultural change. What is needed now is one (or a few) experiments in "habitat" design to demonstrate that successful "habitats" can be established in Japan. In a recent book (published in Japanese), Brunner and I proposed that Special Entrepreneurial Zones (SEZs) be established. We gave some rather specific recommendations for "habitat" design (i.e. the rules of the SEZ). The timing of our SEZ proposal is fortunate because the Japanese government and Diet are now earnestly considering the establishment of special economic zones, so there is some hope for an SEZ that will (experimentally, at least) make the "desert" bloom.
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, Central Wing
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, Central Wing
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, Third Floor, Central Wing
