Hi everyone. Today I have the pleasure of being in Tokyo visiting Sigma Corporation and sitting down with their CEO Kazuto Yamaki. This has been a really big year for you guys with the release of the BF camera and the 300 to 600mm lens coming out at the start of this year. It seemed the whole photography industry's attention was on Sigma. Certainly they dominated the CP Plus show earlier this year. Earlier today I got the chance to sit down with three of the engineers who were behind this fantastic lens that I think is probably the most exciting telephoto lens to be released in the last decade. And the media attention on Sigma this year reminds me of a lens that was released a long time ago in 2012 that really introduced me to Sigma, and that was the 35mm Art lens for DSLR lenses. If you weren't shooting at that time, there was a perception that third-party lenses weren't of the same quality as Nikon and Canon. But that lens shattered that idea because it was so far ahead of what Canon and Nikon were producing. It was amazing and I'm sure it led a lot of people to really wake up to Sigma. So actually that was a big year for both of us. I think that was around the time that you became CEO, and it was also the year that I started running my photo tour. So, and I think you launched your global vision initiative that year. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Yes, that's right. Sigma was founded in 1961 by my father, Mihiroyamaki, and he was the owner and CEO until he passed away in January 2012. After he passed, I became the CEO. I've been working at Sigma since 1993, so at that time I had already worked for Sigma nearly 30 years. But after my father passed away, I became the CEO and since then I've been running the company.
Okay, and how was that transition? I mean, a lot has happened in the past 13 years, but was it coincidence that the Global Vision initiative and this new series of lenses came out at that time?
As I said, I've been working for the company nearly 30 years and during that period I've always wished to make the best products, the best quality products in the industry. That has been my vision and dream. And of course my father also had a dream to make the best of the best products. But when I realized my father had a very limited life and I would become the next CEO, I started the project of the Art series lenses. I talked to our engineers and asked them to make the best of the best products, and they did a great job.
It's a long time ago now, but do you recall it was such a groundbreaking product? It sounds now, you know, lenses are so good from a lot of manufacturers, but at that time it was a huge leap over what was already out there. Was there some new technology they had developed, or was it a completely new design for a 35mm lens?
At that time, the number of pixels in DSLRs was increasing, especially the introduction of the Nikon D800 was quite shocking actually. At that time we also released the SD1 camera, which also provided very sharp, high-resolution images. But back then, the resolution of the camera body was a little bit ahead compared to the resolution of the lenses. There weren't many high-performance lenses that supported such high-resolution cameras. I was listening to the voices of photographers and customers who really needed lenses that support high-resolution cameras. At that time, it was challenging to improve resolution for zoom lenses, but I found an opportunity to achieve even higher resolution with prime lenses. Also, all the prime lenses back then were quite old designs. The 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4—most were quite old and not good for high-resolution cameras. I'm not a good photographer but I like photography and I normally use prime lenses, so from my personal preference I really wanted to make the best prime lens. Then we came up with the idea to create the 35mm f1.4.
In a way it was a new generation of lenses because you're right, I hadn't thought of it that way. Around that time we went from 24 megapixels being cutting edge to suddenly jumping over 30, and now we're at 60, 80, 100. So yes. Now, if you don't mind talking a little bit about your management style. I've heard and read about it, and I've experienced personally that there aren't many CEOs you can send casual emails back and forth with. It seems like an outsider looking at Japan, business culture is typically more formal than the rest of the world, maybe. And it seems here it's different. I've heard you talk about how it needs to be like a family. Is that something you learned from your father, or is that your own perspective? Why is Sigma so different in that regard?
I think I learned a lot from my father. He was a really hands-on CEO and manager. He checked every detail of the company, not only product development but also manufacturing, sales, marketing, everything. Some people may criticize that he was kind of a micromanager, but I quite respect that attitude, and I think I learned a lot from him.
How would you say your style is different from his?
Well, my management style is quite similar to my father's. But compared to my father's time, I have many talented engineers. When my father started the company, there weren't many engineers or staff, so he had no choice but to do everything himself. But today I have very talented engineers, factory workers, and sales and marketing personnel, so I can work together with them. My primary role is to show my own vision, share it, and then let others work on their own projects or jobs.
Is it right that your desk is out amongst the engineers? You share the workspace with the engineers?
Yes, I still do not have my own office. Instead of having my own office, I have two desks in our headquarters. The engineers work on two floors, so I have one desk on each floor. If I want, one day I work on one floor and the next day on the other engineering floor. My desk is very close to the corridor, where people pass by, so they can casually approach me and talk to me.
I should say actually I didn't have it in my notes, but the design of the building is quite interesting. It's beautiful. Many modern headquarters have this integrating nature, but the way the building is a series of buildings joined by different walkways is quite interesting. Were you involved in the design of the building, and how does the flow of people affect the design?
Yes, I was quite deeply involved in this project because this office was completed about three years ago. During the designing and preparation for construction, due to COVID I could not travel outside the office or abroad, and I could not go to the factory even though it's in Japan. So I could spend a lot of time with architects, and we had many meetings exchanging ideas and concepts. My concept was to create the most comfortable place to work for our employees, because they spend so many hours and days in the office, so the office must be a place where they feel very comfortable.
