When I first meet Nobu Matsuhisa, I can immediately tell that he’s a people person. He smiles widely and often (his teeth are amazingly white, in case you’re wondering), asks me how I am and where I’m from and immediately agrees to take a picture with me, insisting that I stay put in my seat as he gets up to sit down next to me.

Let’s not forget that this is the same man who has built a Japanese restaurant empire – 38 Nobu restaurants and nine Matsuhisa restaurants – around the world, yet seems to have retained his humility through this global domination.