OUR FOUNDER
Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc. designed and manufactured solenoids and wiring for the automotive, appliance, energy and industrial markets. It operated a total of seven facilities located in the United States, Mexico, and China, with an additional engineering, design center and administrative facility in the Philippines. Mr. Tsuha sold Saturn in 2012, using proceeds from the sale to create the Tsuha Foundation.
In the course of Mr. Tsuha’s 40 years in the automotive industry, he received many awards, including Entrepreneur of the Year (Inc. Magazine) and the State of Michigan’s Small Business Person of the Year. Additionally, Mr. Tsuha has served on the boards of organizations such as Gentex, the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Japan Council, and the Original Equipment Supplier Association.
Given his personal journey and his experience creating thousands of jobs as a business owner, Mr. Tsuha started the Tsuha Foundation because he believes in breaking cycles of poverty. To this end, the Tsuha Foundation supports anti-poverty nonprofits whose theory of change centers on transformative relationships and systemic change. The Foundation builds long-term relationships with its grantees and enjoys opportunities to provide support and guidance beyond the financial contribution.
In 1985, Wallace Tsuha started Saturn Electronics and Engineering, Inc., which he grew into a $350 million business with 2,000 employees in four countries. His road to success was not a traditional one.
Mr. Tsuha was born in Hawaii as the second-oldest in a family of seven children. Money was very scarce and the children were often at risk of going into the foster system. Mr. Tsuha helped to support his family by working as an auto mechanic while struggling through high school. After graduation, Mr. Tsuha enlisted in the U.S. Army, where his knowledge of cars developed into an aptitude for engineering. After leaving the military, he landed a job in Detroit, Michigan, at General Motors' Advanced Electronics Research Laboratory, where he remained for 10 years. He transitioned into management positions at other Detroit-area manufacturers before creating Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc. in 1985 as a minority-owned business.
“If we work together, we cooperate, we collaborate, we can get things done.” Wally Tsuha