January 11, 2027 - Japanese Manufacturing Entrepreneur Yushiro Kato, Sales & Strategy Raj Datta, and Corporate Trainer Dr. Andy Dunn

Yushiro Kato – Founder of CADDi – CAD Manufacturing Startup

Yushiro Kato is a kind of wunderkind in Japan. And now, he’s building an empire here in the states. At 32, he’s the head of CADDi, a company that has excelled in helping companies outsource the manufacturing of challenging parts. The business works with hundreds of factories worldwide to streamline operations using the Kaizen approach and then splits profits with those factories as CADDi customers increase demand. (Forbes 30 Under 30, Forbes Top 10 Japanese Entrepreneurs of 2023, and their company made a Top 10 story of 2023 in the Chicago Business Journal). Now, CADDi has created CADDi Drawer, an AI-enabled tool to help engineers and manufacturers streamline production. Fresh on the heels of a nearly $90-million Series C round a few months ago, this company, with a U.S. HQ in Chicago, is making waves with a platform that promises to increase efficiency by 80% during the procurement process through its proprietary image analysis algorithm, automatic drawing analysis and link purchase history. As both a manufacturer and now a SaaS product provider, Yushiro has a wide view of the startup world and how manufacturers are looking at the problems they face amid digital transformation.





Raj Datta – IBM Vice-President, ISV & Technology Partnerships

Raj Datta leads strategy and sales in the IBM Ecosystem through partnerships with companies globally. He was previously the CEO of oak9, a cloud security company, and prior to founding the company worked at IBM for over 18 years. Datta’s team is focused on delivering exponential revenue growth across IBM’s software portfolio, with a key focus on A.I. (IBM watsonx) and Hybrid Cloud (RedHat OpenShift).





Dr. Andy Dunn – Corporate Trainer at Dale Carnegie

Dr. Andy Dunn joined Dale Carnegie in 2022 as a corporate trainer. He brings with him diverse experience in areas including public school teaching, diversity, and corporate training. He completed his Ph.D. in Exceptional Learning. Dale Carnegie is his “dream job” because it offers him an effective and time-proven structure and encourages him to “make it his own.” Dale Carnegie’s principles remind him to “Give honest, sincere appreciation.” That can go a long way in developing and maintaining the best relationships. When not facilitating training with Dale Carnegie, he can usually be found in his garden, at the ball field, or writing music at the piano. If not there, he is likely on a Gulf Coast beach or in (or around) Lake Tahoe.