Centrality of Productivity

THE CENTRALITY OF PRODUCTIVITY underlines the role of productivity as the driver of growth for firms, organizations, nations, and individuals. It signifies the determination to always do more with less. This conference celebrates the 60-year journey of the Asian Productivity Organization and will review new applications of productivity to improve the quality of the workforce and enable smart transformation.

14:00
Opening
14:25
Keynote Speech
14:50
Session 1
16:20
Session 2
17:25
Closing

All time in Japan Standard Time

Keynote Speech 14:25 ~

Socioeconomic Prospects in the New Era

Paul Krugman
Pre-recorded

Nobel Prize Winner in Economic Sciences, 2008. Krugman is a prolific author, columnist, and public intellectual with 20 books and more than 200 papers in professional journals. He is currently Distinguished Professor of Economics, Graduate Center, City University of New York. One of his influential quotes refers to productivity, “Productivity isn’t everything, but, in the long run, it is almost everything.”

Session 1 14:50 ~

Quality of the Workforce

How can we ensure the quality of the workforce to increase productivity and prepare for Industry 4.0?

Moderator
Kazuhiko Toyama

Partner and Chairman, Industrial Growth Platform, Inc.

Partner and Chairman, Industrial Growth Platform, Inc. (IGPI). Toyama is a leading management consultant in Japan and has served prominent roles in the public and private sectors.

Vesselina Stefanova Ratcheva

Insights Lead, World Economic Forum

Insights Lead, World Economic Forum. Ratcheva is a thinker in the search for a more just socioeconomic system and leading the efforts in exploring its new metrics by using big data.

Francis Cholle

Founder and CEO, The Human Company

Founder and CEO, The Human Company. Cholle is a widely acclaimed, US-based strategic management adviser who transforms companies for outstanding results. He is also an eminent author and lecturer at leading graduate business schools.

Yuka Shimada

Director, Human Resources and General Affairs, Unilever Japan Holdings K.K.

Director, Human Resources and General Affairs, Unilever Japan Holdings K.K. Shimada is one of Japan’s leading figures in workforce developments and ways of working reform. She leads the human resources and serves on its board of directors.

Session 2 16:20 ~

Smart Transformation

How can smart transformation foster value creation and increase productivity?

Moderator
Yutaka Matsuo

Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Katsuya Uenoyama

Representative Director, PKSHA Technology Inc.

Audrey Tang
Pre-recorded

Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Matsuo is an expert on AI and the President of the Japan Deep Learning Association. He is also a member of the board of directors at SoftBank Group Corp.

Representative Director, PKSHA Technology Inc. Uenoyama is a leader of the Tokyo-based company providing algorithm-based software and solutions. It develops and manages machine learning-based software embedded image and voice recognition, and natural language processing.

Digital Minister, ROC. Audrey is a leading digital influencer and a proponent of open sharing platforms for civil society with impressive credentials in the digital world.