EUGENE–Junki Yoshida, known in Northwest business circles as the "boss of sauce," will speak at a forum sponsored by the University of Oregon’s Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship.

The free talk, open to the public, will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19, in the Browsing Room of the Knight Library, 1501 Kincaid St. Refreshments will be served.

Yoshida earned his "boss of sauce" nickname for the marketing strategies used to promote his initial product, Yoshida’s Gourmet Sauce.

Twenty years ago, Yoshida taught martial arts in Oregon. For the holidays, he gave his students a teriyaki-based cooking sauce made from his family’s 60-year-old secret recipe. The students enjoyed it so much, they insisted on refills. The sauce became the product that launched his entrepreneurial career.

Yoshida, who is the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship’s first entrepreneur-in-residence, will work with students to assist them in their entrepreneurial endeavors. He also will speak with the management team of the university’s Lundquist College of Business regarding his management concepts and techniques.

Yoshida is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Yoshida Group of Companies, which grosses more than $75 million annually and employs more than 200 people. The Yoshida Group sponsors several nonprofit organization events in Portland every year.

For more information, contact the UO Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship at 346-3420.

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