Management Team

Mr. Yuji Okamoto joined Yazaki Corporation in July 2008 as a Technical Advisor to the Automotive R&D Division. Prior to joining Yazaki, Mr. Okamoto was an employee of Toyota Motor Corporation for thirty years. In June 2009, he was appointed General Manager of Yazaki Research and Technology Center in Japan, and in June 2010, he was appointed Managing Executive Officer of Yazaki Corporation. In October 2010, Mr. Okamoto was appointed Chairman of YTC America Inc.

Ray has been with YTCA since its inception in 1987 as Orion Laboratories, and was instrumental in setting up all technology development activities of the company from its earliest stages. Ray has held positions of increasing responsibility over the years, including Director of Operations and Vice President. As President, he has initiated a variety of new technology and product development platforms, and led several projects' transition from laboratory to pilot plant scale and commercialization. Ray is a co-inventor on a number of patents and co-author on many technical publications.

Prior to joining YTCA, Ray held research management positions with ITT Corporation (Electro-Optical Products Division) and SpecTran Corporation in the field of fiber optics technology. Ray holds a MS in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India.

Anand is responsible for the operations and business development activities of the company. In this role he has direct responsibilities including Business Alliance Management, Software R&D, IT, Facilities/Engineering, EMS/Safety, and Purchasing functions. Prior to joining YTCA, Anand held various engineering and management positions at Mentor Graphics and Intel Corporation from 1991 to 2001.

Anand has managed complex product development projects and relationships in America, Europe, and Israel. Anand holds an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Oregon Graduate Institute, and a MSc, BE dual-degree in Physics and Electrical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India.

Leonid is responsible for general supervision of all materials research projects of the company and directly leads the research efforts in carbon nanotube technology. Before joining YTCA, Leonid worked as a Principal Scientist at the American Honda Research and Development Center in Columbus, OH from 1999 to 2005. Leonid held various academic and industrial research positions in the USSR, India, Germany, Japan, and the US. His main areas of expertise include carbon-based materials, superconductors, magnetic materials, thermoelectrics, and organic electronic materials. Leonid received a PhD in Physics from the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1985, and a BS in Physics and Electronics from Yerevan State University (Armenia, formerly USSR) in 1979.

Kathy joined YTC America in 2004 to manage all accounting activities. Prior to joining YTCA, Kathy worked as a C.P.A. and held Assistant Controller/Controller positions with several companies including Smilesaver Dental Plans, ACT Networks, Forms & Surfaces, and Condor DC Power Supplies. Kathy holds a BS in Accounting from California State University, Northridge.

Linda joined YTC America as the Manager of Human Resources/Administration in 2004. Before joining YTCA, she held numerous positions in Human Resources at Litton Industries, Dataproducts, RETIX, SMTEK, and most recently Power-One, Inc. As an HR Generalist, her responsibilities include employee relations, recruiting, policies and procedures, coaching, counseling, and training.

Akihiko Torikoshi coordinates YTCA's technology development activities with Yazaki Corporation divisions in Japan. Since joining Yazaki in 1994, Aki has held various engineering and management positions at Yazaki Research and Technology Center (YTC), Japan. From 1994 to 2005, he worked in several R&D areas at YTC, including the Soft Energy Department, Integrated Circuit Development Department, and Systems Electronics Development Department. Between 2005 and 2009, he managed Technology Planning activities at YTC, including investigation of new technology areas and formulation of technology roadmaps for the company. Aki holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan.

Yasukazu Hoshino coordinates YTCA activities with the parent company. He joined Yazaki Corporation in 1986. He successfully developed novel magnetic materials for automotive applications and received the President's Award from Yazaki Corporation in 1989. He was assigned to Orion Laboratories Inc. in 1990 and participated in the company's transition to YTC America in 1992. Before joining Yazaki Corporation, Dr. Hoshino worked at S&B Foods, Inc. from 1978 to 1986 in areas including analytical services, quality control, consumer affairs, and pollution control.

Dr. Hoshino holds a PhD and a MS in Materials Science and Engineering from UCLA and a BS in Industrial Chemistry from Meiji University, Japan. He also holds seven professional licenses in Japan related to Metrology, Environmental Measurement and Chemical Analysis, Pollution Control, and Chemical Engineering.