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Member Highlight: Kevin McAuliffe

Newport Ltd. President and 27-year ACCJ member Kevin McAuliffe shares his business experience in Japan.

The Newport Ltd. president and 27-year ACCJ member shares his business experience in Japan

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What path led you to your current role in Japan?
I had worked for multinationals such as Time Inc. and Reuters in Asia from the mid 1970s to the early 1990s, but always wanted to start my own business. The opportunity finally came in late 1993, when I was asked by Reuters to transfer from Tokyo to the New York office. A former colleague from my Time Inc. days in Hong Kong was looking for an entrepreneur interested in importing and distributing a variety of consumer products in Japan that he sourced from China and other markets. This was prior to Don Quixote, Costco, and the ¥100 stores, so it seemed like a great opportunity. In January 1994, I left Reuters and established Newport Ltd.

What challenges is your company or industry facing?
Initially the issue was capital. I had to use a combination of my own savings and generous payment terms from my merchandise suppliers to get through the first few years. Next, it was competition as the above-named businesses and others entered the low-priced consumer product market. Newport then pivoted to branded goods and enjoyed solid growth for many years. However, during the past two years, we have seen major changes in consumer purchase patterns and are now testing strategies for the new normal.

What inspires you?
We strive for win–win outcomes in all our transactions. Providing opportunity to our customers, suppliers, and staff has been the driving force behind our growth and longevity.

“As a small to medium-sized enterprise, we succeed by innovating and executing well. In the constantly changing consumer products space, we have developed the capability to bring new products to market incredibly fast.”

What issues are important to you and how can you make a difference through your work?
Our company strives to be a sustainable corporation. We have been ISO 14001 certified since 2002. That’s the internationally agreed standard that sets the requirements for an environmental management system. From the beginning, all staff have been involved, and everyone is a member of a team working on a number of social, economic, and environmental goals. In addition, each of our brands is focused on several relevant Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. Making positive impacts in these areas allows employees to find meaning beyond just their normal work responsibilities.

What is unique about your business?
As a small to medium-sized enterprise, we succeed by innovating and executing well. In the constantly changing consumer products space, we have developed the capability to bring new products to market incredibly fast. One example from some years ago is going from an initial supplier meeting to having a product in retail stores in less than five weeks. Though there are risks in being first to market, we use a kaizen cycle to constantly improve our ability to bring the right products to our customers.

How do you define success in Japan?
We can have profits while performing poorly and can lose money while doing a great job, so financial performance on its own is not enough. Success is a moving target, but I just ask, “Did we do our best?”

What advice do you have for someone new to the market?
Japan is a wonderful place to do business. There are plenty of challenges in finding capital, talent, and customers, but there are so many pluses. Years ago, I remember someone telling me that the opportunities in the Japanese market were in just avoiding the elephant’s feet. As long as you didn’t compete directly with the big players, there was lots of space to operate—especially if you were agile and creative. That was 30 years ago. Today, I would say that there are now more elephant feet, but there is still plenty of opportunity in between.

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Spectrum of Benefits

After nearly a decade as president and chief executive officer of AIG Japan Holdings KK, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) member Robert Noddin retired this year. Among his numerous contributions as an ACCJ leader, he served as co-chair of the Education Committee, inspired many as a speaker at the ACCJ-Kansai Women in Business Leadership Series, and played a key role in the formation of the F500 CEO Advisory Council, which he served alongside Jonathan Kindred as one of the first co-chairs. As Noddin retires, The ACCJ Journal talked to him about his experiences with the chamber and why he encourages professionals to get involved.

Former AIG chief Robert Noddin shares what the ACCJ has meant to him

How did you come to be part of the ACCJ?
During my second assignment to Japan with AIG (2002–06), I was initially introduced to the ACCJ via the annual fundraising gala, as a guest. I wasn’t in a senior position at the time, and folks such as Don Karnak were at the helm of AIG—so there really wasn’t a place for me. When I returned in 2009, to take on a larger role—first as chief operating officer of the American International Insurance Company, followed shortly afterwards as CEO—it made a lot more sense for me to engage. I started attending informational and exchange events, the Ordinary General Meeting, and things like that. Then in 2012, I moved into the AIG Japan CEO role, and that meant a chance to engage more visibly as the AIG representative to the ACCJ. That’s when things started to get interesting.

Why do you feel the ACCJ is important? Why should professionals become involved?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re the head of a small business in Japan or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the ACCJ vigorously tries to be of value to all its members in Japan. Whether issues are industry specific or cut across industries, the chamber is constantly striving to bring value to its members and to enhance the overall competitive environment for US companies—and, frankly, any foreign companies—in Japan.

The ACCJ continuously strives to bring value, working both internally with members as well as externally with local, prefectural, or national governments on issues in Japan, with state, embassy, and federal leadership in the United States, and with external advisors. That’s always been powerfully evident to me.

Why was the formation of the F500 CEO Advisory Council important? What was it like to play a role?
The F500 CEO Advisory Council was created in 2018, and several years before that I was approached at an ACCJ event by then-CEO of IBM Japan Paul Yonamine and Jon Kindred, who at the time was CEO of Morgan Stanley. They wanted to get my views on how to help the chamber persuade the large-company CEOs to become more actively engaged. They were of the view that those CEOs had gradually stepped away from direct engagement while folks such as their corporate or government affairs leaders became more active.

Right after that, I was approached about joining a CEO-led DC Doorknock, the annual visit by ACCJ leaders to Washington. I was intrigued and joined. It really impacted me and, to be perfectly honest, was one of the more interesting and fulfilling things I did during my entire 12-plus years as an AIG leader in Japan. That solidified, in my mind, what Paul and Jon had first mentioned to me, so Jon and I agreed to see if we could get the F500 Advisory Council started. The intent was to ensure that the large-company CEOs help bring support and substance to issues bigger than those of concern to any one company or industry. We felt it would help the ACCJ project a powerful leadership presence in advancing strategic agendas from which all members could benefit.

How have you benefited from the ACCJ?
My personal benefit was having the chance to exchange ideas and experiences with leaders from many industries and of several nationalities. It was incredibly helpful for me to understand challenges and opportunities across the spectrum of foreign businesses in Japan. I was also quite heartened during the Doorknocks to see how much support and interest US government leaders have for US interests in Japan. And, truth be told, I developed some fantastic relationships and friendships that, personally and professionally, really made my life and career in Japan so much more fulfilling.

Anything else you would like to share?
I would encourage members to be active on committees and maximize the chances to learn from, and provide assistance to, other members. I can’t imagine where else you could engage and benefit so richly from people who, on a daily basis, come through the ACCJ doors with the depth of experience and lessons they can share—whether virtually, at a function such as those held at Tokyo American Club, or at the ACCJ office.

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Robert “Skipp” Orr (1953–2021)

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) has lost a longtime member and leader, Robert “Skipp” Orr, who passed away on August 12 due to heart failure at his home in Kamakura. He was 68. Orr played a key role in US–Japan relations over many decades and helped lead the ACCJ during the 1990s as a governor (1995–96) and vice president (1997–99). He guided Boeing Japan K.K. as president from 2002 to 2007 and served as chairman of the board of the Panasonic Foundation from 2007 to 2010.

Former ACCJ leader and US Ambassador passes away at the age of 68

Orr (second right) with US President Bill Clinton at an ACCJ Town Hall meeting on November 20, 1998.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) has lost a longtime member and leader, Robert “Skipp” Orr, who passed away on August 12 due to heart failure at his home in Kamakura. He was 68.

Orr played a key role in US–Japan relations over many decades and helped lead the ACCJ during the 1990s as a governor (1995–96) and vice president (1997–99). He guided Boeing Japan K.K. as president from 2002 to 2007 and served as chairman of the board of the Panasonic Foundation from 2007 to 2010.

In September 2010, he was named US Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and held the post until December 31, 2015. He continued to serve as a member of the ADB Institute Advisory Council following his ambassadorship.

Orr’s contributions to US–Japan relations were recognized by the Japanese government in 2018 with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.

Memories

During his time as an ACCJ leader, Orr often wrote columns for The ACCJ Journal. We asked some members who worked alongside Orr at the chamber for their memories.

ACCJ Chairman Emeritus Kumi Sato said that “Skipp was the kind of person who, the longer you knew him, the more you found out about his depth of knowledge and expertise, and his life. He knew what he was talking about.

“He devoted his life to improving US relations with Asian countries,” she continued. “It seemed like he loved his job, and had a strong sense of duty to let everyone understand the challenges and sensitivities of these relationships. He cared. I’m so saddened that he went too early and fast, and wish that we could have had more chats, to find out what he thinks of the world today.”

President emeritus Tom Whitson remembers Orr as “a longtime friend and ACCJ colleague who enjoyed life and could laugh at himself. He didn’t mind being teased as ‘Mr. Ambassador’ for his position with the Asian Bank in Manila. As an ACCJ vice president, Skipp’s knowledge of US–Japan trade policy and policymakers was very valuable to the chamber. He had a fascinating career in politics, academia, industry, and with international organizations. I appreciated his willingness to share what he knew with people less well-connected than he was, like me.”

Glen Fukushima fondly remembers working together with Orr. “Skipp and I were friends from the 1980s, and we had a lot of fun in the 1990s when I was ACCJ president and he was one of the vice presidents,” he recalled. “We worked especially closely with Ambassador Walter Mondale (1993–96) and Ambassador Tom Foley (1997–2001) on US–Japan trade issues, since Skipp was working for Motorola and I was working for AT&T. He later worked for Boeing and I worked for Airbus, but we always maintained our friendship. We had a Zoom call in April and exchanged emails in early August, only a week before he passed away. I will really miss his great friendship.”

Former ACCJ executive director Samuel Kidder said: “I first got to know Skipp Orr when working on telecom market access decades ago—Skipp at Motorola, me at the US Embassy in Tokyo. Through his years at Boeing, and then as Ambassador at the Asian Development Bank, our paths often crossed or converged. It was a privilege to be on the same team with him so often. His open friendship and broad intellectual curiosity made him a special colleague. So many of us will miss and long remember Skipp.”

And Don Kanak, who served as ACCJ president in 2002 and chairman in 2003, told The ACCJ Journal that he was shocked and saddened to learn of Orr’s passing. “I met Skipp in Japan many years ago, in Tokyo, when he was representing Motorola and then heading Boeing, and I was with AIG,” he said. “We collaborated on a number of ACCJ initiatives related to high-profile US–Japan trade issues.

“Skipp was an excellent strategist on trade and political economy and a joy to work with. He had an exceptional understanding of the value of long-term relationships in Japan, the United States, and Europe. Not everyone knew Skipp’s background included a deep knowledge of Europe and native German language skills, in addition to Japanese,” Kanak continued.

“More recently, I was able to connect with Skipp while he served with distinction as the US Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, playing a big role building multilateral support for infrastructure in Southeast Asia and for sustainability. He was an extraordinary person and a good friend. We will all miss him greatly.”