 Peter Owans gives the keynote address.
On Friday, May 21, this year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the founding of Phoenix Associates as a corporate training and development company. I would, therefore, like to thank Ms. Yukako Uchinaga and Mr. Satomi Yamamoto as well as all those who were able to join us at the Tokyo American Club to celebrate this special occasion. As President & CEO of Phoenix Associates, I feel privileged to have been able to share such a significant milestone with you and I look forward now to another 30 years of our continued strength, stability and success. Of course, none of this would be possible without the people who 'are' Phoenix, so to all of you I extend a big thank you.
Let me begin with a brief history of Phoenix Associates and the steps that have brought us this far. Phoenix was originally founded by Thomas Kent, with his wife Mitsie Kent, on May 22, 1980. At that time, Tom was just 27 years old, and working in the Marketing Department of Kentucky Fried Chicken head office in Tokyo. During his time at KFC, Tom was tasked with organizing and setting up KFC's manager training in Hawaii. His duties included finding a suitable training provider to support the participants' English language development as well as preparing them for their management training. It was at this point that Tom identified a gap in the market and a clear niche for a provider who would focus 100% on B2B corporate language and skills training. With the approval of his boss at KFC, Tom left the company in March, 1980 and established Comet International, which would later become Phoenix Associates, with KFC being the first client. They were humble beginnings with the location of the company being a simple 2K apartment in Meguro.
 Yukako Uchinaga offers congratulatory remarks
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I joined the company in 1985 when the company was then located in a 3LDK apartment within the same condominium with just eight employees including Tom and his brother, Robert Kent. In the same year the company had its first major breakthrough with IBM Japan becoming a client. With the rapid expansion of IBM and its subsequent business requirements from the company, PA moved into a real office building, also in Meguro, in 1986.
The year 1986 saw the employee numbers balloon to 30 and it was now that the name was changed from Comet International to Phoenix Associates. It was also in this year that we set up our Osaka branch office to support our clients in the Kansai region. Our final move came in June, 2001 when we relocated to our current offices in Mita, Minato-ku.
From the date that I joined Phoenix until now, I have held a variety of positions as the company has developed, and I have also seen the company go through many challenges. For me personally, though, one of the biggest accomplishments in my career at Phoenix came when we were acquired by BI to become part of the Berlitz group. With 130 years under its belt and a sterling brand, Berlitz has not only far exceeded our 30 years of existence, it also has vast knowledge and industry know-how that we are now able to draw on and incorporate into our own practice. Part of my hope for the future has always been that Phoenix would be able to extend its services globally. With Berlitz having a strong presence in over 70 countries worldwide, this dream can now become a reality.
In short, these are exciting times. We now have a real chance to take the steps to enable Phoenix Associates to achieve the full potential that we are undoubtedly capable of. Now is the time for us to work together, to innovate and to continue to push the boundaries of excellence in exceeding our clients' needs by offering total training solutions through Berlitz.
 Phoenix Associates staff members.
From the humble beginning of the company, our key asset has always been the people of Phoenix. Our people have always brought a spirit of tenacious ingenuity to everything we do - from forging close partnerships with our clients HR, to providing quality and results-driven programs for our training participants. Our founder, Thomas Kent, had an ambitious dream of creating the premier total training solutions company in Japan working with top-notch corporations. I still share in this dream, and with your support, I know we will continue to remain at the forefront of our business. It is my strong conviction that for many years to come, our innovative assessment tools, tailor-made programs and talented staff will continue to deliver value to our clients. Thank you!
- Peter A. Owans
President and CEO, Phoenix Associates |
