Unleashing Wellness at Scale
Originally published 4/22 on LinkedIn Articles
Have empathy for your future self.
It’s a quote I think about often as I make decisions on a daily basis. Should I skip workout today? How many pieces of cake is really too many? Can I function on 4 hours of sleep?
And more importantly, how do I want to spend my time and life?
My family is in healthcare and are entrepreneurs. My parents are physicians who co-founded two hospitals in Bangkok — Bumrungrad Hospital and MedPark Hospital, and as a result, healthcare and entrepreneurship have been topics for decades at the dinner table. Naturally, they encouraged my sister and me to follow in their footsteps and become physicians ourselves.
However, I knew that pursuing medicine wasn’t the right path for me. When I told my mother that I wanted to choose a speciality that minimized my time with patients (radiology), it was a strong signal that my bedside manner was completely lacking. I was the “black sheep” of the family — pursuing math and engineering and co-founding Lubbock High School’s first US FIRST robotics team (a fun video of me in 1997). Our team won the “Against All Odds” award from Dr. Woodie Flowers himself because managed to compete at the national level without sponsorship or supervision.
Lubbock High School Team at US First Nationals 1997
Park Admission Sold Separately
With that, I was hooked on Engineering and Robotics, creating teams, and pushing the envelope to do what’s right and interesting. I went on to receive a BS Mechanical Engineering from Rice University but then pursued software roles as e-commerce came of age.
In 2014, I became interested in lifestyle medicine after I immersed myself so deeply in work that I didn’t exercise, sleep much, or eat healthful foods. I found that my body was stiff and inflamed, and my medical markers were trending toward Type II diabetes and hypertension. As I remembered the mantra — Have empathy for your future self — I started an exercise and diet regimen and now have non-negotiables when it comes to my health and my family’s health.
Deadlifting for Core, Legs and Gluts
So, in the last six months, as I pondered the question “How do I want to spend my life and time?” I could think of no better way than to merge my family’s expertise with my own in bringing software, hardware and AI solutions to health and wellness.
I am thrilled to announce that I am joining PanasonicWELL as the Global Head of Engineering — encompassing software engineering, AI, data and IoT products.
PanasonicWELL is a new venture and business incubator from Panasonic, committed to innovating new services and technologies to improve the lives of modern families. Our teams are relentlessly focused on improving health, wellness and overall well being outcomes for families, nuclear and extended. By connecting hardware, software and services through industry-leading, responsible AI, our ecosystem of solutions helps families create harmony and live healthier and happier every day.
I cannot wait to bring innovative wellness products to bear for families worldwide under the brilliant leadership of Yoky Matsuoka and the Executive Leadership Team. Accelerating AI and IoT innovation for Panasonic and our customers will be an honor and privilege.
As I embark on this new journey, I am reminded to keep empathy front and center, for myself and for the families we serve.
