The Japan Society of Northern California and The Board Director Training Institute of Japan (BDTI) are pleased to co-sponsor a one-day course providing “director training” for prospective members of Japanese public and private boards. This one-day intensive program, which is offered regularly by BDTI in Japan, teaches participants key legal and corporate governance knowledge needed to serve on, report to, or analyze boards in Japan. The course consists of lectures interspersed with time for interactive discussion and Q&A about real-life situations, and how to handle them. Everyone will have a chance to learn from each others’ experiences, as well as from BDTI. The course will cover topics such as:

• Introduction to corporate governance
• The role of directors and the board
• What is required of directors under the Company Law?
• Legal and liability issues, and how to handle them
• Director duties and conflict-of-interest situations
• Statutory auditors, internal control, and the audit process
• The role of the board in strategy and risk management
• Japan’s new corporate governance code
• Best practices, committees, and succession planning
• Changing “corporate governance culture” in organizations

Venue: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | One Market, Spear Street Tower, 28th Fl. | San Francisco, CA 94105
Date:  Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Instructor: Nicholas Benes, Representative Director, BDTI; Chair of the Growth Strategy Task Force, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ); proposer of Japan’s Corporate Governance Code.
Nicholas Benes (Summary CV) 
Mr. Benes received his B.A. in political science from Stanford University, and a JD-MBA degree from UCLA, after which he worked at JP Morgan for 11 years. He is an inactive member of the bar in California and New York, and is certified as a securities salesman in London and Japan.  Read more…
Past participants of this course include:

• Bill Wilder, External Director and Member of the Audit Committee, Monex Group (JPX8698); Director, GI Capital; formerly President and CIO, Nikko Asset Management
• George Olcott, Outside Director at The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company (JPX8750), Denso Corporation (JPX6902), and Hitachi Chemical Company, Ltd. (JPX4217; Audit Committee Member)
• Michael Alfant, Fusion Systems, Chairman and CEO; Independent Director, Healios (JPX4593) and Newport; ACCJ, President Emeritus; multiple past outside director positions
• Tom Eastling, Representative Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer at GNI Group Ltd. (JPX2160)
• Naoji Kato, President, Imperial Kitchen; formerly Director, Nichirei Foods, Inc.
• Gerhard Fasol, CEO at Eurotechnology Japan KK; Outside Director and Member of the Audit Committee at GMO Cloud KK (JPX3788
• Royanne Doi, Corporate Chief Ethics Officer and Vice President, Prudential Financial, Inc.

Cost of the course:    $875.00 (lunch box will be provided)
Method of Payment:  Please make check payable to the “Japan Society of Northern California”
Refund:                        No refunds issued on/after Monday, August 29, 2016
Registration:              Please register by accessing and completing the following form: registration form

                              Email it back to etanaka@usajapan.org .

                                    Due to the venue’s limited capacity, attendees will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

We have extended the date to receive the Payment & Registration Form by Friday, September 2, 2016.

The event venue has been provided by generous support from: