YAMATO EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT – YUKO CUNNINGHAM, SAN DIEGO BRANCH MANAGER
04.09.2020 | Category, Blog
Yuko Cunningham is YAMATO USA’S newest branch manager working in San Diego, California. She began as a part time worker in 2009, having received several promotions on her way up that corporate ladder. She was excited to see the YAMATO brand again in her new city in San Diego after moving from Japan in 2007. “The YAMATO trademark logo is everywhere in Japan, but not so prominent here. It brought me comfort when I saw it in my new city of San Diego after moving here 13 years ago.”
Yuko believes the San Diego branch was the perfect starting point for her in the US. “Our office here was relatively small, so I needed to acquire a lot of knowledge about all of our operations. It really helped me to establish my identity,” she says. As Yuko explains, “through YAMATO I learned that the key to success is more about having a big heart filled with compassion for your fellow colleagues and customers while also having a long-term vision for them too.”
Cunningham loves all the different challenges that make up her day. There’s overseas shipping, customer inquiries, international moving, logistics, and various kinds of complicated cargo matters to address, especially when it comes to fast paced shipping of commodities by air. Another big part of the job is having her team handle the ever-increasing e-commerce activities and the cross-border transportation between the US and neighboring Mexico too.
Through it all, she approaches her job each day with a measure of gratitude. Adds Cunningham, “I’m here for many years because of the professional support from all the experienced people around me in San Diego, throughout the US and Japan. I consider my work an opportunity to express my appreciation to you all.”