The Symposium on ASIA-USA Partnership Opportunities (SAUPO), organized by KSU’s Asian Studies Program since 2011, continues to be the largest Asia business conference in the U.S., with alternating conference locations in Atlanta and Asia. Next SAUPO conference will be held in person on Friday, April 17, 2026 at KSU Center, 3333 Busbee Drive, Kennesaw GA 30144. Asia Pacific business leaders, investors, policy makers, diplomats, community leaders, scholars and students will meet in person at 2026-SAUPO-Atlanta to develop and strengthen partnerships. The main purposes of SAUPO are information exchange, business network building, global visibility, investment to/from Asia and workforce development.
SAUPO 2026 Itinerary: Friday April 17, 2026 from 9:00am to 5:00pm
9:00am-10:00am: Registration & Breakfast with Live Guzheng Music Performance (sponsored by KSU College of Architecture and Construction Management)
10:00am-10:30am: Opening & Introductions (sponsored by KSU Radow College of Humanities & Social Sciences (RCHSS)
- Sha Huang, Asian Studies Director, Chinese Program Director, Professor of Chinese, KSU
- May Gao, SAUPO Chair, Professor of Communication & Asian Studies, KSU
- Gregory Paul, Associate Dean, Radow College of Humanities & SS., KSU
- Kenichi Matsuda, Consul General of Japan in Atlanta
- Kiyo Kojima, Partner, Smith Gambrell Russell
10:30am-11:30am: SAUPO Panel #1: Global Business and Sustainability Strategies (sponsored by KSU Coles College of Business)
- Moderator: Hazem Rashed-Ali, Dean, KSU College of Architecture and Construction Management
- Raymond Shelton, VP, Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer, YKK AP America
- William Strang, President, TOTO USA
- Robin Cheramie, Dean, KSU Coles College of Business
- Madison Conway, Chief Marketing Officer, The DDC Group
11:30am-1:30pm: SAUPO Networking Lunchwith Keynote Speeches with a special visit by KSU Mascot “Scrappy” from 12:45pm-1:15pm (sponsored by Toyo Tires)
- Introduced by: George Mui, Managing Partner, Global Consultants United
- Patrick Lenz, President & COO, Toyo Tires
- DeAnn Golden, President & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties
- Joann Hill, Executive Director, Office of Small Business, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Induction Ceremony for New Members in “2026-2028 SAUPO Advisory Board”
-
- Yuichi Arai, Executive Director, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia
- Tina Chu, President, NAC International
- Takako Fujiwara, President & Founder, OnePower Consulting
1:30pm-2:30pm: SAUPO Panel #2: AI, Technology and Innovation (sponsored by KSU College of Computing and Software Engineering)
- Moderator: Lawrence Whitman, Dean, KSU Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering & Engineering Technology
- Andrew Kim, Director, International Specialty Sales, Delta Air Lines
- Connor Murray, Head of Stewardship, BSV Association
- Lucy Lu, Founder & CEO, aiLegal
- Mahmut Karakaya, Program Director, Master of Science in AI, KSU
2:30pm-3:00pm: Afternoon Networking Break (sponsored by YKK AP)
3:00pm-4:00pm: SAUPO Panel #3: Global Workforce Development (sponsored by KSU College of Science & Mathematics)
- Moderator: Nozomi Morgan, Founder & CEO, Michiki Morgan Worldwide
- Sachiko Ueno, HR Manager, Nissei ASB Company
- Rose Jarboe, Founder & CEO, WePartner
- Ming Francis, Co-Founder, The LiveHaus Group
- Heather Koopman, Dean, KSU College of Science & Mathematics
4:00pm-5:00pm: Live Jazz Concert led by Yuichi Arai, Executive Director, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia (JCCG)
SAUPO Networking Reception (sponsored by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties (BHHSGA)
SAUPO Zoom Webinar for global livestream will be operated and recorded by
- Brian Olovson, Director of Modern Languages and Cultures, KSU
- Xiaoling Gao, Lecturer of Business, KSU https://tinyurl.com/5n77bw29
SAUPO 2026 goes from 9:00am to 5:00pm, Friday April 17, 2026, in person at KSU Center in Atlanta.
For more information and to register, visit https://www.kennesaw.edu/conferences/saupo/
VERT.png)
