Shiseido CEO Masahiko Uotani, Goldman Sachs Japan Vice Chair Kathy Matsui to Deliver Keynotes
TOKYO, JAPAN – January 30, 2019 – As the Asia-Pacific region is hit with escalating trade tensions, aging workforces, increasingly costly natural disasters, and growing volatility, boards of companies operating in the region are having tough conversations about what will be required to survive these disruptions. Leading companies through these game-changing market, technology, and structural changes is the focus of the WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) Asia-Pacific Institute, to be held February 21-22, 2019, at the Westin Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. WCD is the largest organization of women corporate board members globally and its Japan chapter is one of WCD’s most active, with more than 100 members.
“Companies across Asia are having to adapt to the realities of consumer demand and tight labor markets,” says Susan C. Keating, CEO of WCD. “We are seeing digital innovation, automation, and other high tech leapfrogging advances. At the Institute, directors will hear how companies are reworking business models and what role company boards can play in these discussions. Additionally, as venture capital investment in Asia hit record levels in 2018, with a large percentage of this going to the technology sector, we will explore what role women can play in VC in the region.”
The CEO of global personal care and cosmetics company Shiseido, Masahiko Uotani, will deliver the keynote address at the Institute on February 22. At the pre-Institute dinner at the International House, attendees will hear remarks from WCD member Kathy Matsui, Vice Chair and chief Japan strategist for Goldman Sachs, who has helped push for more women in senior leadership roles in Japan. Directors and business leaders from around the world will attend the Institute, which is being hosted by the WCD Japan chapter, chaired by Yukari Inoue, Izumi Kobayashi, and Satsuki Miyahara. Additional Institute sessions are listed below.
Institute theme: “Resilient Leadership for a Disruptive Era”
Panel 1: Almost Human – The Age of Applied Intelligence
- Jennifer C. Chen (Japan), Partner, Intellectual Property, Vinson & Elkins
- Frederique Covington (Singapore), Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing & Cross Border, Asia Pacific, VISA; WCD Member
- Baigalmaa Tsagaan (Mongolia), Presidium Member of Citizen’s Representative Meeting of Capital, Head of Japanese National Institute of Technology in Mongolia
- Nancy Calderon (United States), Global Lead Partner, KPMG LLP; Director, Global Delivery Center, Ltd., KPMG India; Director, WCD Foundation; Co-author of Women on Board
Panel 2: Adapting Technology for Aging Labor Markets
- Peta Latimer (Singapore), CEO, Mercer Singapore
- Ikuko Ebihara (Japan), President, Johnson & Johnson KK Vision Care Company; WCD Member
- Jean Moe (Korea), CEO, Dames; former CEO of Danone Corp.; former Outside Board Member of Met Life Insurance Company; WCD Member
Panel 3: Investing in the Future – Venture Capital and the Role for Women
- Soo Boon Koh (Singapore), Founder and Managing Partner, iGlobe Partners; WCD Member
- Theo Schwabacher (United States), Executive Director, Morgan Stanley; WCD Chapter Chair and Advisory Board Member
- Hyunjoo Je (Korea), CEO, Yellowdog (Impact Venture Capital)
- Yumiko Murakami (Japan), Head of the OECD Tokyo Centre; former Managing Director at Goldman Sachs; WCD Member
Keynote: Blurred Lines – Corporations and Communities in Asia
- Ruth Shapiro (Hong Kong), Founder and Chief Executive at The Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society
Panel 4: Creating and Leading a Resilient Business Model
- Chris LaVictoire Mahai (United States), President, Aveus, a division of Medecision; Director, Macquarie Global Infrastructure Fund; WCD Member
- Susan Eick (Canada), CEO, The Refinery; WCD Member
- Cristina Finocchi Mahne (Italy) Professor of Economics of Banking and Industrial Groups, University of Rome La Sapienza; Outside Director, Natuzzi; Non-Executive and Independent Director, Trevi Group and Gruppo Banco di Desio e della Brianza; Director, Inwit and Seat Pagine Gialle; WCD Chapter Chair
- Nobuyuki Tsuji (Japan), Consultant, Spencer Stuart
For more information about WCD, please contact Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com. Media: Select sessions of the Asia-Pacific Institute on February 22 only will be open to qualified media. To apply for media credentials, please contact Temin and Company. For female directors of publicly traded companies or large private companies interested in attending the Institute, please contact Chelsea Labzda of WomenCorporateDirectors at chelsea@womencorporatedirectors.org.
About WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc.
The WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. (WCD) is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, WCD has 80 chapters around the world. The aggregate market capitalization of public companies on whose boards WCD members serve is over $8 trillion. In addition, WCD members serve on numerous boards of large private and family-run companies globally. For more information visit www.womencorporatedirectors.org or follow us on Twitter @WomenCorpDirs, #WCDboards.
Upcoming WCD events:
WCD Asia Pacific Institute: February 21-22, 2019, Tokyo, Japan
“Resilient Leadership for a Disruptive Era”
WCD Global Institute: May 19-22, 2019: Silicon Valley, California
“Harnessing the Transformative Power of Technology”
