Maria Contreras-Sweet

Founder and Chairwoman of the Board, Promerica Bank

Former Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency for the State of California

Ms. Contreras-Sweet is a woman of keen vision and remarkable organizational skills that have led her to an extraordinary level of accomplishment throughout her career. Her most recent achievement demonstrating her powerful leadership skills can be seen in her becoming the Founding Chairwoman of Promerica Bank, the first Latino-owned business bank in California in over 30 years. She previously served for five years as California's secretary of business, transportation and housing, managing a $14 billion budget and a work force of more than 42,000. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Spirit of California award from the California State Legislature.

Atsutoshi Nishida

President and CEO, Toshiba, Japan

Mr. Nishida studied History of European Political Thought at the Graduate School of University of Tokyo. He then went to Iran where he started his professional career at a joint company of Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co, Ltd. (currently Toshiba Corporation) and a local Iranian company. In May 1975, he joined Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd.

In 1984, Mr. Nishida was named Senior Vice President, Toshiba Europe (I.E.) GmbH and pioneered the notebook personal computer business. His work was credited for turning around Toshiba Corporation’s business miraculously from a deficit of 14.2 billion yen in the third quarter of fiscal year 2003 to a surplus of 8.4 billion yen for the corresponding period in 2004. Mr. Nishida has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Toshiba Corporation since June 2005.

Presenter: Howard Ross

Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Cook Ross, Inc.

An internationally recognized speaker on diversity, leadership, and organizational change, Mr. Ross is the creator of a concept called “Organizational Community,” which calls for the integration of mission, work flow and people to increase organizational performance. Mr. Ross has successfully led large-scale organizational culture change efforts in managing diversity and cultural integration in professional services corporations, Fortune 500 companies, and retail, health care, media, and government institutions. In addition to working in 47 of the 50 states in America, Cook Ross has worked in ten other countries.

Michiko Achilles

Managing Executive Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, Aozora Bank, Ltd

Ms. Achilles graduated from Sophia University, with a BA in Business Administration and from the Fielding Graduate Institute, with an MA in Organization Management. She started her career at Fuji Xerox Learning Institute as an intercultural communication consultant. She assumed Human Resources leadership positions in several global companies, including Citibank, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and ABN Amro Bank and Securities. She joined Sumitomo 3M in January 2004 and has held key leadership positions, including head of Human Resources Development, head of Human Resources, and head of Talent Management for 3M Asia Pacific. She assumed her current position as of August 1, 2008.

Linda Akutagawa

Senior Vice President/Resource and Business Development, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP)

Ms. Akutagawa is responsible for fundraising and business development, and oversees program design, development, and delivery. Now in her 16th year at LEAP, Ms. Akutagawa bridges her development and program design and delivery roles through her consulting with LEAP’s diverse range of corporate, community, and government clients. She is a Board member of the Asian Women Leadership Network and Japanese American Community Services. Previous to joining LEAP, Ms. Akutagawa was the Marketing Manager for Japan and Orient Tours. She received her BS in International Business with a minor in Economics from California State University Los Angeles

Anthony P. Carter

Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer, Johnson & Johnson (J&J)

Mr. Carter is responsible for building strategy that enhances the J&J vision to be a world class, benchmark company for diversity and inclusion, and aligning this critical business process with the Corporation’s strategic business objectives. He reports to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and works closely with the Vice President and Executive Committee Member responsible for Worldwide Human Resources. He was formerly the Vice President, Corporate Communications for J&J. Mr. Carter is a Professor at New York University Graduate School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He received his BA degree in Communications and Journalism from Fordham University in 1976.

Renee White Fraser, Ph.D.

CEO, Fraser Communications

Founded by Ms. Fraser, a social psychologist, in 1992, Fraser Communications is one of the fastest growing businesses in Los Angeles with sales over $42 million and ranked #36 nationwide by Entrepreneur Magazine for fastest growing woman-owned businesses in the US. Clients include: Toyota; United Way of Greater LA; State of California’s Flex Your Power; Wendy’s and Whole Foods Markets. An advocate for entrepreneurship as a catalyst to success for women and people of color, Ms. Fraser and her work have been featured in The New York Times, USA Today and NPR. Ms. Fraser focuses on results for clients with all campaigns measured against solid metrics and their ROI.

Debbie Howard

President, Japan Market Resource Network (JMRN)

JMRN is a Tokyo-based market research firm. Before founding JMRN 20 years ago, Ms. Howard worked in market re¬search for McCann-Erickson Hakuhodo, managing accounts such as Citibank, General Motors, and Northwest Airlines. She is the first woman to be elected President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), serving in 2004 and 2005 followed by two years as Chairman; she continues as President Emeritus. She received her BA in advertising and marketing from the Journalism School of the University of South Carolina, and attended Graduate Business School at Georgia State University.

Tisa Jackson

Founder, Professional & Technical Diversity Network (PTDN); Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion, Union Bank of California

Ms. Jackson has been a key architect in establishing and re-engaging diversity and inclusion functions in large corporations and has led programs and processes in financial services, high tech, and the non-profit industries. She founded the Professional & Technical Diversity Network (PTDN) of Greater Los Angeles, a diversity consortium comprised of companies committed to diversity and inclusion The PTDN model was been included in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and HR Magazine. Ms. Jackson holds a BS Sp in Management & Organizational Behavior and Political Communications from Emerson College in Boston, MA.

Marilyn Johnson

Vice President, Marketing Development, IBM Corporation

Ms. Johnson leads an organization responsible for developing IBM’s strategy for marketing to diverse markets. Her focus includes select global markets for women business owners. She is an executive with extensive management experience in sales and marketing in the information technology industry. She is a member of many business and professional organizations. And a member of the Executive Boards of the Council for Better Business Bureaus and the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund. Ms. Johnson is a charter member of the American Airlines Marketing Board of Advisors. She has two children, Erinn and Christopher.

Izumi Kobayashi

President and Representative Director, Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd.

Ms. Kobayashi graduated from the Faculty of Humanities, Seikei University, before joining Merrill Lynch Futures Japan, a Japanese affiliate of Merrill Lynch, in 1985. She then worked as the Director of Operations of the Tokyo Headquarters of Merrill Lynch Securities and the Chief Administrative Officer of the Corporate Client Group for Merrill Lynch Japan Securities. Ms. Kobayashi was appointed President of the company in 2001. She was listed in The Wall Street Journal's "Top 50 Women to Watch in 2005" and also selected as Veuve Clicquot's "Businesswoman of The Year."

Itaru Koeda

Executive Advisor and Honorary Chairman, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

After graduating from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tokyo, Mr. Koeda joined Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in 1965. He was assigned to its United Kingdom-based subsidiary in 1990. He was named Director in 1993. Mr. Koeda’s previous titles include Managing Director, Executive Vice President and Co-Chairman. He holds his current title since June 2008. In 2006, he was awarded the Blue Ribbon Medal that is given to individuals who have made significant achievements in the areas of public services by the Government of Japan.

Kathy Matsui

Managing Director and Chief Japan Strategist/Co-Director of Pan Asian Investment Research, Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd.

Ms. Matsui joined Goldman Sachs in 1994, was named Managing Director in 1998 and Partner in 2000. She serves on the Asia Management Committee, the Japan Professional Development Committee and on the Firmwide Diversity Committee. In 2007, she was chosen by the Wall Street Journal as one of the "10 Women to Watch in Asia" for her work on the "Womenomics" theme. Ms. Matsui is a board member of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation and a trustee for the American School in Japan. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a BA in Social Studies, and holds an MA from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies.

Beverly Okada

Global Creative Director, OLAY/Executive Vice President, Saatchi & Saatchi, New York

Beverly Okada joined Saatchi & Saatchi in 1998 to manage the Olay brand globally. In this role she has helped secure Olay's dominant market share, transforming the brand from a pink beauty fluid to a two billion dollar global business. Although much of her career has been involved at a senior level in the beauty business, she was also one of the first women to work on an agency car account, Pontiac. She has built an outstanding creative reputation for her work on complex and demanding businesses, at icon agencies including Wells, Rich & Greene, Young & Rubicam, and now during almost 20 years at global ideas company Saatchi & Saatchi.

Yoko Okamura

Manager, Corporate Marketing, Altera Japan, Ltd.

Ms. Okamura is responsible for corporate marketing at Altera Japan, a Silicon Valley based semiconductor company, the first fabless company in the world, where Japan generates a quarter of the global revenue. Her marketing experience includes online marketing, cross media communications, and B2B branding. Prior to her current position, she was responsible for corporate branding; PR and IR for Japan’s number one ERP system company. Before that, she was a Co-founder, Director and Executive Vice President of eigoTown.com ltd., an Internet based educational publishing company. She has a BA from Waseda University, studied at Kent University in England, and holds an MBA from Aoyama Gakuin Business School, an affiliated business school with Carnegie Mellon University.

Susan J. Onuma

Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Recently named one of "2008 New Jersey's Best 50 Women in Business" by NJ Biz Magazine, Ms. Onuma has counseled and advised Japanese corporations in all areas of doing business in the U.S. for over 25 years. She is Co-Chair of the Asia Practice Group and member of her firm's Diversity Committee. She was recently elected the first female President in the 100 year history of the Japanese American Association (JAA) of New York, a not-for-profit social service organization and also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Japanese American National Museum. She is a graduate of Barnard College and University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Ann Sado

Representative Director, A TO Z Sado Enterprises Ltd.; Marketing/Communication Consultant; Vice President, Global Enhancement of Women’s Executive Leadership (GEWEL)

Ms. Sado has served as a marketing manager at Aramis (Estee Lauder), Lancome, and Helena Rubinstein (L'Oreal). She was also a management consultant at Roland Berger & Partners Ltd. and Vice President of Apparel at Reebok Japan. She was instrumental in launching Jack Canfield's "STAR, Success Through Action & Responsibility" Workshop into Japanese and brought diversity consulting to Japan through GEWEL. She has spoken or moderated for various Women’s Summit and Network Events including the Global Summit of Women. Born in Tokyo, Ms. Sado is a third-generation Japanese-American. She holds a BA from Occidental College and an MA from Waseda University Graduate School. She was awarded the People's Choice Vision Leader Award at the Gallup Leadership Institute.

Yukako Uchinaga

Director and Vice Chairman, Benesse Corporation; Chairman and CEO, Berlitz International, Inc.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Uchinaga was Technical Advisor at IBM Japan, Ltd. (IBM). She joined IBM in 1971 as a system engineer and held several management positions in development and marketing before being elected to the IBM Board of Directors in 1995. Active in promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the Japanese business, she founded Japan Women's Innovative Network (J-Win), a non-profit organization, and serves as President. Ms. Uchinaga was inducted into the Women in Technology International (WITI) Hall of Fame in 1999, becoming the first women inducted from outside of the United States. She holds a degree in theoretical physics from the University of Tokyo.

Haruko Watanabe

Managing Director, Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd.

Ms. Watanabe is a member of the Executive Committee of Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. and chair of the Japan Professional Development Committee. She joined Goldman Sachs in 2002 as a Vice President and was named Managing Director in 2007. Before joining the firm, Ms. Watanabe worked at the Bank of Japan where she spent a total of 15 years in various roles including foreign reserve management, macro economic research, off-site monitoring of banks, forex intervention and human resources management. She earned a BA in Economics from the University of Tokyo and attended the Graduate School of Business in Chicago.

Mariko Mikami

Journalist; Anchorperson; Associate Professor, University of Shinshu Graduate School of Business Administration

As a journalist, Ms. Mikami has written the articles for the Japanese and U.S. financial magazines. Her credits include the thesis about “Landmine Removal in Thailand and Cambodia” (Foreign Press Center), “Heir to the Throne” (Time, Inc.), and “Japan’s Changing Industrial Landscape” (World Bank Policy Research Work Paper). As an anchorperson, she works for NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and other broadcasting bureaus focusing revitalization of local economies in Japan. Ms. Mikami serves as a committee member for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Municipal government. She authored many books include “Megabank’s Accounting in Japan, US, and Europe” (Kadokawa Shoten, 2003) and “The middle management in Japanese companies; Aging workforces and parasitic generation” (NTT Shuppan, 2005). She is a graduate of Keio University and a member of Japan Writer’s Association.