Beverly Ayao Fujitani stepped from the graduation stage into the world at breakneck speed. And she has been accelerating ever since. In 1970, besides being a homemaker and mother to son Ryan, she took on a tough career that was traditionally dominated by men. She blazed the trail and opened up sales for women at Otis Elevator on the West Coast.
Beverly then joined Hawaiian Pacific Elevator in 1982; the company went on to triple its sales and was recognized in Fortune 500. After a series of company buyouts by thyssenkrupp Elevator, Beverly moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2001 to work for the company in sales and business development. She is currently a senior account manager. The parent company, thyssenkrupp AG, employs 155,000 people in nearly 30 countries.
Beverly takes pride in the fact that she earned her success trailblazing in an industry where women were not expected to be as competitive as men. In the beginning, Beverly says, sex discrimination was rampant because her male colleagues did not believe that a woman could understand the philosophy of how elevators functioned. The “good old boys” network was difficult to break into. Beverly was determined to be successful so she got to know her customers by listening to them and finding a resolution to problems. Customers sought her out because she was easy to talk to and they trusted her.
Beverly enjoys meeting new people and working with innovative products. While she sometimes finds it difficult to sell an intangible product, it is very satisfying and rewarding when she can persuade a challenging customer to make a purchase.
Beverly’s favorite teacher at KHS was Mrs. Sharon Kaohi, and she says, “She inspired me to keep the values of discipline, determination and dedication in mind, and that’s been my formula for success in my work and in life.”
Beverly’s accomplishments in breaking the glass ceiling make us proud to be ‘69 Kaimuki grads.
