Kaz Shingo (Kazunori Shingo)
New Connections CEO
- 1977 Born
- 1983 Spent seven years living in the West — six years in North America and one year in the UK
- 1996 Nanzan University, Faculty of International Studies
- 2000 Joined Aisin Seiki
- 2003 Housing Equipment Sales Division — domestic major-account OEM sales of warm-water bidet toilet seats
- 2010 Drove the launch of a business-defining ¥5 billion project; appointed new-market development leader for North America, Southeast Asia, and Australia
- 2015 Appointed leader of the overseas sales team in the New Business Division
- 2019 Launched the shower-toilet new-business division at Aisin China; in his first year as sales director, achieved the company’s first-ever sales record
- 2022 Achieved cumulative sales of 7,000 units through three years of new-market development in China
- 2022 Recognized for his overseas track record, he accepted an offer from an equipment trading company and joined a turnaround project for its Chinese subsidiary; appointed General Manager
- 2023 Turned a Guangzhou subsidiary — in the red for 14 years since its founding — profitable; the same year, established a Tianjin branch
- 2025 May. Determined to go independent — free from conventional frameworks, to deliver client-focused problem-solving and to adapt to an intensifying, fast-changing market — he founded New Connections
Armed with the “genchi, genbutsu, gennin” (go and see the actual place and the actual thing for yourself) mindset cultivated over 22 years in the Toyota Group, together with the communication skills and drive he developed in childhood, he has driven new-business development not only in Japan but across Southeast Asia and China, carrying out a wide range of product planning and business initiatives.
His hard-won marketing skills, his proposal ability powered by strong problem-solving, and his hands-on, on-the-ground support won high praise, and the many requests from clients for local project support ultimately led to the founding of New Connections.
Languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (a little)
Hobbies: Tennis, Diving (NAUI Divemaster)
