Hiroto Ogasawara

Hiroto Ogasawara leads Yaskawa Electric as President, overseeing one of the world's four dominant industrial robot manufacturers alongside FANUC, ABB, and KUKA. Founded in Japan in 1915, Yaskawa literally invented the term "mechatronics" — the integration of mechanical and electronic engineering — and has been a pioneer in servo motors, motion controllers, and industrial robotics ever since. Yaskawa operates through three core divisions: Motion Control (AC servo motors and drives — used in virtually every automated manufacturing line), Robotics (MOTOMAN industrial robots for welding, painting, assembly, and material handling — one of the largest installed bases globally), and System Engineering (power conversion and environmental systems). The Robotics division has particularly benefited from growing automation demand in automotive manufacturing, electronics assembly, and food processing. Factory automation is a powerful secular trend driven by labor shortages (especially in aging societies like Japan, South Korea, and Germany), rising labor costs in developing markets, quality and precision requirements, and the desire for flexible manufacturing. Key stock drivers include global industrial robot orders and installations, automotive and electronics capital spending, Chinese factory automation demand, servo motor market conditions, yen exchange rate, competition with FANUC, ABB, and other robot makers, collaborative robot (cobot) market development, and the pace of automation adoption across non-traditional industries.