Masami Suwa
Facilitator - Tokyo, Japan

Masami Suwa brings to Japan Intercultural deep experience spanning several decades managing the participation of Japanese multinational Itochu Corporation in large infrastructure projects abroad, most particularly in the Middle East and the U.S. During his distinguished career at Itochu, he held a number executive positions, among them Manager of their Bahrain branch office and General Manager of Middle East Plant Project Development. He served several long-term overseas assignments while at Itochu—Chicago from 1970 to 1974, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 1980 to 1983, and Bahrain from 1988 to 1994. From 1999 to 2005, he was General Manager of Itochu’s Corporate Legal Division and Director of their International Trade Administration Office. He was responsible for legal affairs, including corporate governance and export control.

In his early career in Itochu’s Industrial Machinery Division, Masami served as technical liaison and handled imports of goods from companies such as Trane and Johnson Controls in the U.S. and Rolls-Royce Aero Jet Engines in the U.K. His later work focused on large infrastructure projects such as gas turbine and nuclear power plants. In Riyadh he handled purchasing and project management for the Makkah Taif desalination/power generation project, a large-scale electrical substation for the Riyadh King Khalid International Airport and power-generating gas turbines for the Saudi Electricity Co. (SCECO). He has managed power generation projects throughout the Middle East, including Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Egypt. He has also worked on a cogeneration project in the U.S.

During this time Masami developed communication skills that enabled him to overcome intercultural issues and complete high-stakes global engineering projects. In addition to his project management and considerable Middle Eastern experience, through his work in international trade administration he built strong relationships with U.S. government officials and brainstormed in high-profile think tanks with other Middle East experts. He is currently in charge of the Middle East business at Japan Intercultural Consulting.

Masami is a graduate of the Engineering Department of Waseda University.

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