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Junior Manager, East Japan Railway Company, Tokyo, Japan
Hiromasa Shimomoto sees a connection between his longtime hobby, as a bass guitar player, and his HR job with East Japan Railway Company.
Even though the company operates one of Japan’s most essential public infrastructures, its consumers seldom think about its importance to their daily lives, he says. “That’s quite similar to a bassist. The audience may not pay much attention to the bass player, but he has a fundamental role in the songs.”
As its market shrinks due to declines in Japan’s population, Hiromasa’s company recognized a dual need to operate more efficiently and expand its business worldwide (the U.S. is a targeted market). Vanderbilt, he says, offered opportunities to study American business and a world-class program in Human & Organizational Performance (HOP). On top of that, he relished Owen’s supportive community. “All the professors knew my name, and all my classmates listened to my opinion carefully even though my English skills were not great,” he says. “I cannot describe how happy I was here thanks to them.”
Equipped with his new knowledge, honed by hands-on and immersion experiences he found especially valuable, Hiromasa returned to Japan after graduation to help his company deal with the earthquake and tsunami that struck one of its primary service areas. He takes pride in his company’s track record. “We had 27 bullet trains running over 150 mph in the area (when the quake struck), but not one derailed,” he says. “Our company has a great system to sell to the world.”
That’s where Hiromasa, ever spotting connections, sees another apt comparison. Among graduate business schools, he says, “Owen is a bullet train.”
Hiromasa Shimomoto
Vanderbilt MBA 2011Junior Manager, East Japan Railway Company, Tokyo, Japan
Riding the ‘Bullet Train’
Shimomoto Makes Owen His Career EngineHiromasa Shimomoto sees a connection between his longtime hobby, as a bass guitar player, and his HR job with East Japan Railway Company.
Even though the company operates one of Japan’s most essential public infrastructures, its consumers seldom think about its importance to their daily lives, he says. “That’s quite similar to a bassist. The audience may not pay much attention to the bass player, but he has a fundamental role in the songs.”
As its market shrinks due to declines in Japan’s population, Hiromasa’s company recognized a dual need to operate more efficiently and expand its business worldwide (the U.S. is a targeted market). Vanderbilt, he says, offered opportunities to study American business and a world-class program in Human & Organizational Performance (HOP). On top of that, he relished Owen’s supportive community. “All the professors knew my name, and all my classmates listened to my opinion carefully even though my English skills were not great,” he says. “I cannot describe how happy I was here thanks to them.”
Equipped with his new knowledge, honed by hands-on and immersion experiences he found especially valuable, Hiromasa returned to Japan after graduation to help his company deal with the earthquake and tsunami that struck one of its primary service areas. He takes pride in his company’s track record. “We had 27 bullet trains running over 150 mph in the area (when the quake struck), but not one derailed,” he says. “Our company has a great system to sell to the world.”
That’s where Hiromasa, ever spotting connections, sees another apt comparison. Among graduate business schools, he says, “Owen is a bullet train.”
