Takahide Akiyama is the new president of Japan Society of Northern California
The Japan Society of Northern California (JSNC) announced today the appointment of Takahide Akiyama as its President to lead its mission to promote strong ties between the Bay Area and Japan, effective January 1, 2020. The JSNC, the area’s leading forum on Japan and US-Japan relations, strengthens mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and Japan by providing programs that help to expand knowledge, increase personal interaction and facilitate discussion of important issues.
Mr. Akiyama, a board member of JSNC for the last ten years, takes up the JSNC Presidency following a long career in international business that spanned US, Europe and Japan. He has had various senior executive positions with global companies such as Japan Country Head of the Bank of New York Mellon and President & CEO of BNY Mellon Securities Company (Japan), President & CEO of CBRE KK and General Manager of San Francisco Branch of the Industrial Bank of Japan. Most recently, until June 2019 he was the President & CEO of erex Spark Marketing, a Japan-US joint venture company and a board member of erex Co., Ltd (TSE listed) and continues as its Corporate Adviser.
He has a keen interest in philanthropic activities and his previous board membership in the Bay Area included San Francisco Ballet and International House of University of California Berkeley. He is a graduate of University of Oxford (MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics) and Keio University (BA in Economics).
“We are delighted that Mr. Akiyama will lead the important work of the Japan Society of Northern California,” said JSNC Chairman of the Board Jon Metzler. “He brings a depth of business and financial acumen, an extensive network of contacts in the Bay Area and Japan and a nearly a decade of non-profit Board experience. Mr. Akiyama is uniquely qualified to build on the growth that the Society has enjoyed under departing President Larry Greenwood, and further expand our outreach and profile. His vast private sector experience will help ensure that the Society is best meeting the needs of our members, including our corporate members who are an important pillar of our institution.”
“I am very excited about this opportunity to help build even stronger bridges between Japan and the US at this more-than-a-century-old JSNC,” commented Takahide Akiyama. “I received so much as a foreign exchange high school student in California and more recently as a business executive and I feel it is now the time for me to return what I received for the further growth of the important relationship between the two countries in the changing global context.”
Larry Greenwood will remain in a Board position when he steps down in 2020.
The Japan Society of Northern California, founded in 1905, is an educational not-for-profit organization and the West Coast’s leading forum on Japan and US-Japan relations. Its mission is to strengthen cooperation and understanding between the peoples of the United States and Japan in a changing world by providing programs that help to expand knowledge, increase personal interaction and facilitate discussion of important issues. Our members throughout the Bay Area and Northern California enjoy opportunities to meet and learn from leaders in business, politics, society and the arts from both sides of the Pacific.
