Having lived on three continents by the tender age of five, Yutaka Matsuyoshi was as good as destined to undertake a career path that crossed borders. Born in Kamakura, he spent a year and a half in Düsseldorf between the ages of one and two. Then from five to ten, lived in New Jersey. “I went to public school, played with local kids, and got a local education. It formed part of me as an individual.”
Returning to Japan for junior school, Matsuyoshi’s focus shifted to competitive swimming, which defined his high school and university years. “Political science was a practical choice. I thought, which faculty will give me the most time to spend in the swimming pool?” he confesses with a laugh.
He became more focused on matters beyond the pool when he began a management trainee scheme at shipping giant Maersk. A two-year training programme “with a pretty robust curriculum including economics and maritime law studies” while being rotated through different departments culminated in an exam that determined whether employees kept their jobs.
From pubs and sarcasm to tensions and detention
One of the standouts of more than a decade with Maersk and group company Damco was the two and half year posting to London. “I had a lot of fun and I enjoyed working with the Brits. The culture of going to the pub and then a curry, along with the sarcastic humour, became second nature.”
Following a stint back in Japan, Matsuyoshi worked in Shanghai and then Hong Kong. In China, he faced a linguistic challenge due to his appearance. “People expected me to speak fluent Mandarin. When I didn’t, sometimes they’d get very frustrated, thinking I was pretending.” It was also a time of political tensions between Japan and China. “During periods of anti-Japanese protests, it was difficult. Once, I was detained at the airport for hours, questioned about the number of stamps in my passport. It was scary.”
A coup d’etat and cricket
After a couple of years in Hong Kong, he took on a position working in the territory doing logistics for Adidas. Matsuyoshi recalls a trip to Sialkot, Pakistan, which produces most of the world’s footballs along with other sports equipment, when he found himself effectively stuck there for a couple of days due to transport issues. The cricket world cup happened to be taking place, and with little else to do, he found himself finally appreciating the quirks of the game after hours of watching matches, something he had not managed even during his time in England.
A more serious challenge came in the form of the military coup in Myanmar, from which Adidas was sourcing sports shoes. After difficult internal discussions, the company decided that pulling out of the country would impact ordinary workers more than it would the new regime.
He moved to Lucerne with Adidas in 2019, again handling global logistics. Though he highly values his experience in the sporting sector, Matsuyoshi felt he wanted to focus purely on logistics. While in Switzerland, he took on a role with Schindellegi-headquartered Kuehne + Nagel in 2022.
The show must go on
The essential nature of logistics was driven home to him during the pandemic. “We are an industry that helped everyone through the Covid crisis. We were one of the very few industries that kept moving…we moved all of the foodstuff, we moved everything, despite all the lockdowns. We moved all the vaccines. There are moments where you feel a sense of pride. Logistics may sometimes be seen as labor-intensive or less focused on intellectual capital, but it is a fundamental infrastructure that plays an indispensable role in keeping the world running. It’s something that should never be taken for granted.”
He also hails another overlooked aspect of the industry. “Logistics is unique because it’s both global and deeply human. Decisions often aren’t driven by economics alone; relationships play a huge role.”
Like shipping, some of the largest firms are still family-run. “At my company, Kuehne + Nagel, Mr. Kuehne owns a majority share in the company. At 87 years old, he’s still going and calling the critical shots.”
Matsuyoshi returned to his native country in August after 13 years working abroad and now heads up operations in the country. His other big focus is family life, especially his young son, who he admits took to Swiss German more adeptly than he did and continues to study the language. “He started judo in Switzerland, and now he’s training in Japan. It’s much more intense here, but he enjoys it.” A keen skier, his son is also eager to explore Japan’s slopes. “I’m looking forward to showing him how great Japanese skiing is.”
Text: Gavin Blair for SCCIJ.
