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Back to All ProfilesYasu Kitazume


Yasu Kitazume

Vanderbilt MBA 2008
Product Sepcialist, Johnson and Johnson

Discovering Endless Opportunities

Kitazume Expands Skills, Wins Dream Job with J&J

Yasu Kitazume came to Nashville to get ahead in Japan. "I felt I had limited opportunities to broaden my professional skills in the traditional Japanese company I belonged to," he says, "and I wanted the challenge of working in the global marketplace."

To get the expertise in marketing and strategy he sought, Yasu chose Owen for both its academic reputation and its small community. (Nashville, he adds, was also a refreshing change from the frenetic pace of Tokyo.) In contrast to his old position, new pathways and options were everywhere. "Owen provided me with opportunities whenever I wanted," Yasu says. "Everyone welcomes anyone who wants to get involved."

Armed with new skills in marketing and strategy, Yasu also got a little help from his friends. "During my first year," he says, "my second-year colleagues provided me with so much advice and support in job hunting." He won an internship with Johnson & Johnson in Tokyo, where he became Assistant Product Manager upon graduation. It was just the kind of job he had originally hoped for. "Owen," he says, "gave me the opportunity."
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