In some way you could be forgiven for thinking that Atsushi has been preparing for Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing his whole life. From the early days in 1980 when he joined Mitsubishi Electric's mechatronics business he was immediately introduced to many of the core Factory Automation building blocks. In 1986 he completed his Masters degree at MIT where he researched learning control for robotic manipulators. This was followed up in 1991 by the design of a new die sinker controller concept which aimed to encapsulate the know-how of an experienced worker so that it might react autonomously for optimal performance. In 2009 Atsushi became the Director of Mitsubishi Electric's Information Technology R&D Center. Two years later he transferred to Mitsubishi Electric Information Systems; a system integration business around the IT/OT environment. In 2015, he returned to Mitsubishi Electric's headquarters where he is now actively working on the advanced Monozukuri concept e-F@ctory; or as some would say developing "the art of manufacturing". As part of that activity he has recently taken an additional role as an Executive Board with in the IVI in Japan (Industrial Value Chain Initiative).