Contrasting Entrepreneurship in Japan with the United States

Entrepreneurship around the world takes many different forms based on local cultures and economic infrastructures. In this panel discussion, entrepreneurship in Japan and the United States will be contrasted. This panel event is being produced through Northeastern’s collaboration with Waseda University in Japan. The event will also include a discussion of a joint entrepreneurship project between Northeastern and Waseda. There will be student presentations from the Northeastern student team here in the U.S. and from the Waseda student team in Tokyo who will be connected in by teleconference.

Tom Ermolovich
Online Program Director for the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization program at Northeastern University

Tom Ermolovich is an entrepreneur and senior engineering executive. Currently he is the Online Program Director for the Master of Science in Technology Commercialization program at Northeastern University. He has a joint appointment with the School of Technological Entrepreneurship and the College of Professional Studies.

Previous positions include VP of Engineering at Voice Signal Technologies, American Internet, MicroTouch Systems and Concord Communications. He was also Founder and VP of Engineering at Legra Systems.

Ermolovich received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and an MBA from Bentley College. Currently he is enrolled in the Ed.D. program at Northeastern.

Takeru Ohe, Ph.D.
Professor, Waseda University Business School and Director of the Waseda University Incubation Promotion Office

Dr. Ohe has vast experience as a consultant for companies competing in the high tech industries of the United States, Europe and Japan. In 1982, he founded T. Ohe & Associates, Inc., in order to assist companies to build better businesses in Japan.

Before beginning his consulting practice, he was General Manager of Dymo Japan, Inc., alarge Japanese subsidiary of Dymo Industries. He currently sits on the boards of Cognex Japan K.K., a Boston-based machine vision manufacturer; and Syswave Ltd. a Tokyo-based semiconductor testing company. Dr. Ohe has also been consulting on corporate venturing activities with clients including Matsushita, NTT, Olympus, Seiko Epson, Taiheiyou Cement, Konica, LG, and IBM.

At Waseda University, Dr. Ohe teaches courses in Corporate Venturing and Entrepreneurship. His research interests cover Experimental Management, Technology Evaluation Under Uncertainty, and Entrepreneurship Education. He has published numerous papers and articles, and is the author of several books: Entrepreneur Education will Change Kids (1999), Why Corporate Ventures Fail, (3rd edition, 2008), and Profit Design, (2002).

Dr. Ohe received his Ph.D. in Experimental Physics from the University of Maryland, and an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Dr. Ohe has a BS degree in Physics from Nippon University in Tokyo.