Winston Asai has over 40 years of experience in the manufacturing sector, with multiple CFO and COO positions for several OEMs.

At A Glance

  • Chief Financial Officer
  • VP – General Manager
  • VP – Operations
  • Board of Directors
  • Board of Directors – Chamber of Commerce
  • Board of Directors – Financial Executives International
  • Managed all Banking Relationships, Domestic and International
  • Risk Management; Product Safety, Plant Safety, Regulatory Compliance, Insurance
  • Implementation of multiple ERP applications, including international adoption
  • Manufacturing Operations focus, with focus on Discrete Manufacturing

Key Leadership Accomplishments

Winston was integral to the integration of seven autonomous operating units into one cohesive company through strategic realignment of nine manufacturing facilities into six product/service-focused factories, which provided the foundation for significantly improved profitability. He also successfully engineered a significant and strategic acquisition of an international competitor with over 300 employees and achieved immediate profitability. As VP-General Manager, Winston utilized leadership skills to increase profitability of manufacturing operations by 50 percent during depressed market conditions, primarily through the reduction of direct labor on a major product line by over 30 percent (> 1,700 direct labor hours). Additionally, he has maintained an average TRIR rate of 2.3 for the past five years in a fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility, with machining, fabrication, heat treating, painting, and assembly operations.

Bio

Winston Asai has over 40 years of experience in the manufacturing sector, with multiple CFO and COO positions for several OEMs. After starting his career with a “Big 8” accounting firm, he has spent the rest of his career in the capital equipment manufacturing world. Most recently, Winston was the CFO for Columbia Machine, Inc. (“Columbia”), a   multi-national corporation headquartered in Vancouver, WA. During his tenure as CFO, Winston engineered start-ups and/or acquisitions in the United States, India, Poland, Canada, and Brazil. During his 20+ years as CFO for Columbia, the company grew from around 300 employees to over 1,000 employees worldwide, and revenues grew from around $40 million to over $150 million. He is currently on the board of directors for Columbia Machine, a member of the compensation committee, and serves as a co-manager for a real estate management company that owns approximately 300,000 square feet of building space and some additional undeveloped land parcels.

Winston holds a B.S in Business Administration from Oregon State University. He’s a CPA in the State of Oregon (inactive) and a CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management) from APICS.