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Robert B. Horsman Appointed as Chairman of Kyoto Symposium Organization

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

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SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--San Diego’s non-profit Kyoto Symposium Organization today announced the appointment of Robert B. Horsman as its incoming chairman, effective today.

Horsman, a director of the organization since its inception in 2004, succeeds founding chairman Malin Burnham, noted business leader and philanthropist, who will remain actively involved as a director and chairman of the organization’s advisory board.

“I feel honored to lead such an important organization ― one that provides once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunities and scholarships for students from very diverse backgrounds,” Horsman stated. “As chairman, I will continue the mission that Malin began, and work to expand the Symposium’s influence nationally.”

Burnham will remain directly involved in the organization’s leadership. “Being a firm believer in term limits, I feel that the time has come for someone else to take the chairman’s role,” Burnham stated. “Robert’s experience and enthusiasm make his chairmanship a natural progression. I look forward to working side by side with him to bring some of the world’s greatest minds to San Diego through the Kyoto Laureate Symposium.”

Horsman is president and CEO of San Diego National Bank. He currently serves as president of the San Diego Opera Association; chairman of the Mercy Hospital Foundation; and vice chairman of the Foundation of the Zoological Society of San Diego. He is the immediate past chair of the Greater San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Kyoto Symposium Organization’s other board members are Rodney Lanthorne, president of Kyocera International, Inc., of San Diego; and Toyomi Inamori, senior managing director of the Inamori Foundation, Kyoto, Japan.

About the Kyoto Symposium Organization

The 501(c)3 non-profit Kyoto Symposium Organization was established in 2004 to support San Diego’s annual Kyoto Laureate Symposium ― a three-day event celebrating the laureates of the Kyoto Prize. Since 2002, the Symposium has brought 23 Kyoto Prize laureates to San Diego for free public lectures and demonstrations, and awarded $300,000 in Kyoto Scholarships to San Diego and Tijuana-area students. The eighth annual Kyoto Laureate Symposium will take place March 18-20, 2009, with events at SDSU, UCSD and USD.

About the Kyoto Prize

The Kyoto Prize is an international award presented each year by Japan’s non-profit Inamori Foundation to individuals and groups worldwide who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the betterment of human society, in the categories of “Advanced Technology,” “Basic Sciences,” and “Arts and Philosophy.” The prize consists of academic honors, a gold medal and a cash gift of 50 million yen (about US$470,000). The Inamori Foundation was established in Kyoto, Japan, in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, a Japanese entrepreneur and humanitarian. Dr. Inamori created the Kyoto Prize in reflection of his belief that human beings have no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society, and that mankind’s future can be assured only when there is a balance between our scientific progress and our spiritual depth.

Photos available upon request.

Source: BUSINESS WIRE