Five Questions For Takeshi Nishikubo

49-year-old Takeshi Nishikubo is Country Manager for Brüel & Kjær Japan. He has accumulated immense experience of sound and vibration in the automotive industry, as well as fatigue and durability testing. In his spare time he likes playing golf, sightseeing, driving cars, exploring audio, enjoying wine, beer and sake – and reading Kotaro Isaka’s book ‘Audubon’s prayer’.

What are your daily work challenges?
Trying to channel power in one direction. Some like things to stay the same but change is necessary for our future. I like to make short- and long-term targets clear and help my team realise that change can be fun.

Who do you admire most?
Anyone not afraid of failing. Failure is essential to overcome difficulties and achieve success.

What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Don’t hurry. Wait and see what happens, observe your surroundings. This is necessary for making the right decisions.

What irritates you most about your personality?
A Korean friend once told me “you are more optimistic than an American but more aggressive than a Korean”. I am not sure if this is good.

With all the money and time in the world, what would you do?
Build a fully sustainable town to demonstrate what the world should be like. To protect the environment I would only use renewable energy.