Inspiring Aces: Japan Team and Paralympic Gold Medalist Shingo Kunieda

At BNY Mellon, we are committed to diversity and inclusion because we believe it is right for our people, our business and our community.

In Japan, we sponsor Shingo Kunieda, a renowned wheelchair tennis champion who has inspired many with his feats of personal triumph over adversity. Paralyzed from a young age due to a tumor in his spinal cord, Kuneida-san has gone on to win 50 career titles in tennis, including 22 Grand Slam singles titles, 3 Masters titles and 2 Paralympic Golds.

By using our reach and influence, we hope our partnership with Kuneida-san can bring his story of hope and understanding to an even wider audience – from our own employees to the wider community. His message has been important to us, aligning with our efforts to first build a workplace where everyone feels valued, irrespective of their differences.

“Kunieda-san is an impressive and committed athlete. He has overcome significant obstacles to achieve his successes and inspires us to persevere against adversity,” said Doug Hymas, BNY Mellon Japan Country Executive. “We hope this sponsorship will encourage our employees and others to embrace our differences and turn them to advantages.”

“In healthy, inclusive communities, all people have opportunities to thrive and improve their quality of life,” Hymas added.

In 2018, we held two employee events with Kunieda-san, comprising an Asia Pacific town hall where employees around the region could hear from the tennis champion personally. He answered questions about his life and his professional career, which continues to challenge common perceptions and misconceptions of people with disabilities. In Japan, we also ran a tennis session, where the Paralympian star kindly offered to play tennis with employees and their family members. Some of our clients were also invited to engage with Kunieda-san, inspiring those in the financial services community.

“I am amazed by Kunieda-san’s athletic abilities, especially his powerful and well-controlled shots. He is also a very friendly individual, and we greatly value the opportunity to get to know such a successful athlete personally,” said Shogo Yamaguchi, Chairman and President of BNY Mellon Asset Management Japan. “He has many fans at BNY Mellon and we always look forward to his matches.”

Our partnership with Kuneida-san is set to continue, as we look to his further success at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and beyond.