Mission and Purpose
Quad Return Model
- Venture Client Enterprise Savings
- Venture Capital Capital Gains
- Venture Sales Affiliate Commission
- Venture Supply Contract Manufacturing
YII generates a return from enterprise savings using new technology to improve performance
YII generates a return from capital gains based on equity holdings in startups
YII generates a return from affiliate sales through introducing the startup to Yazaki's network
YII generates a return from contract manufacturing by leveraging Yazaki's experience to reduce costs
Venture Scouting Group Landscape and Yazaki Competence
Erik Fleming, President and CEO and member of the Yazaki Innovations Board of Directors, is an accomplished leader with a proven track record of innovation. In his role he assumes comprehensive oversight over all divisions within Yazaki Innovations, which encompass the Emerging Automotive Group, Business Development Group and Venture Scouting Group. His primary responsibilities include furnishing effective leadership, devising strategic plans and objectives, directing operations, and ensuring overall profitability. He has over 26 years of experience in the Automotive, Consumer Electronics and Aerospace industries. He has held management and executive level positions with companies such as Apple, Tesla, SpaceX, Faraday Future and Romeo power. These roles covered Supply Chain, Quality, Operations and Corporate Planning departments.
Casey is a 29-year Yazaki veteran. He has continuously been at the frontier of Yazaki’s business development activities having lead incubation efforts and created new business opportunities across Japan, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States. He is a seasoned leader of people, program manager and process creator that is well versed in the deep-rooted challenges in a very competitive automotive industry, but also have experience in the energy and construction sectors breaking through the conservative markets with a premium quality and high-priced commodity.
He holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of International Business Administration from Reitaku University, Kashiwa Chiba Japan.
Casey is a huge enthusiast of tennis and wine and the marriage of the two distinct aspect of competitive sport nature of tennis and artistic craftmanship and culture of wine.
Kazuo is an Associate at Yazaki, where he is responsible for deal search, sourcing, and due diligence. With 12+ years of experience in mobility and ADAS-related sensing electronics, Kazuo brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. Prior to joining Yazaki, he was instrumental in investing in Mobility and Climate Tech startups at Asahi Kasei Corporate Venture Capital, where he honed his skills in corporate/startup synergy strategies and portfolio startup board observation, as well as acquiring innovation knowledge.
He holds a master’s degree in advanced semiconductor electronics from the National Electro-communication University in Japan.
Bio: Jackson is an Associate responsible for deal sourcing and deal execution. Prior to joining Yazaki, Jackson was an associate at PwC Strategy&, conducting assessments and large-scale transformation projects for satellite and industrial products companies.
Jackson received his BBA with high honors and Master’s in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. Jackson is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in the state of Texas.
Bio: Leticia is an Associate responsible for deal sourcing at Yazaki. She has 10+ years of experience in her previous role as a Design Release Engineer where she was responsible for the continuous improvement of design for the Ford BU. She was the customer point of contact for technical issues. She supported change control meetings and supervised vehicle build and launches at customer pilot and assembly plants.
She graduated from Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Leon (UANL) with a degree in Electronics with a focus on Automation.
Bio: Jason is a Project Coordinator responsible for connecting innovative technology and solutions to internal inefficiencies and pain points, primarily focusing on supply chain automation & AI. Jason also serves as the Engagement Champion for YII, helping foster workplace engagement and improve managerial communication. In addition, Jason is a member of Yazaki’s educational Advisory Council, supporting employees pursuing higher education at the University of Arizona Global Campus.
Prior to joining Yazaki, Jason received his Master’s degree in Business Management from Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management in Ithaca, New York. A proud alumnus of Cornell’s College of Arts & Sciences, Jason majored in Asian Studies with minors in International Relations and Business during his undergraduate years. Having participated in exchange programs at both Keio University in Tokyo and Tsinghua University in Beijing, Jason is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Japanese.
