[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4887]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    COMMENDING DR. KOICHI NISHIMURA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 2003

  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the achievements of Dr. 
Koichi Nishimura and his contributions to the Bay Area and Japanese-
American communities. Dr. Nishimura will soon retire from Solectron 
Corporation after leading the company to its current standing as one of 
the world's largest electronics manufacturing services company. He has 
accomplished this through years of hard work and dedication to his 
friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
  Born in 1938 in Pasadena, California, Dr. Nishimura is a Nisei, or 
second-generation Japanese American. Like many of his fellow Nisei, he 
has experienced strong Western and Eastern influences. During World War 
II, Dr. Nishimura spent five years, from age three to seven, at an 
internment camp in Manzanar. Despite spending his childhood in Southern 
California, he spoke only Japanese until the first grade.
  After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical 
engineering from San Jose State University, Dr. Nishimura received his 
Doctorate in Material Science and Engineering from Stanford University. 
Upon completion of his education, Dr. Nishimura began his career as a 
test engineer with IBM. After 23 years with IBM, he was asked to join 
the then-regional Solectron Corporation. Coming on as the Chief 
Operating Officer in 1988, he quickly moved to President and then Chief 
Executive Officer. In 1996, he became Chairman of the Board. Dr. 
Nishimura has made Solectron Corporation not only the biggest company 
in the electronics industry, but also the most profitable. Under his 
leadership, Solectron was twice awarded the prestigious Malcolm 
Baldrige National Quality Award, becoming the first company in the 
history of the program to do so.
  Dr. Nishimura is very active in both the business and Japanese 
American communities. Currently, he serves on the Board of Trustees of 
the Santa Fe Institute. In addition to serving on various boards, he 
has been a member and the Chairman of Santa Clara University's Leavey 
School of Business. Dr. Nishimura has dedicated his time and energy to 
the Malcolm Baldrige Foundation, serving as Vice President, as well as 
the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, having served as 
a board member. In recognition of his work in the community, he was 
awarded the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group's Lifetime Achievement 
Award in 2001.
  Within the Japanese American community, Dr. Nishimura has dedicated 
his efforts to groups such as the U.S.-Japan Business Council, Japanese 
Western U.S. Association, Japanese American Citizen League, Asian 
Americans for Community Involvement, Asian Law Alliance, and the Yu-Ai 
Kai Senior Community Center in San Jose.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in thanking Dr. Ko Nishimura for his 
dedication to excellence in Silicon Valley. Through his tireless 
efforts, he has created a company grounded in sound principles and has 
dedicated his valuable time to better his community. I congratulate Dr. 
Koichi Nishimura on his tremendous achievements and wish him continued 
success.

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