We are excited about a new year with you in 2022. This will be our best year ever. We have come such a long way since we started in 2004 as a gathering of presidents from mostly the UK and the US. We are bigger and better as a group. We are now as diverse as the United Nations with great interactions, events and especially the insights. Recently someone asked if we had a network in Korea as they found our meetings so valuable for information and interactions.

Thanks for making 2021 a great year despite all the market struggles. It was a tough year for many but for others it turned out to be the best year ever for many of our businesses. We believe your connections to CI will be a key to your success in your business in 2022 with ideas, new business ideas, and breakthoughs on existing business challenges.

All the best for 2022!

Spencer Wolfe

CEO Insights

We’re excited about the new year with CEO Insights. If you are on the mailing list in either the Tuesday or Thursday groups, here are a few things to expect.

• You’ll receive a meeting invite for all monthly 12 regular meetings of the new year.
• Please just accept the meetings in your calendar so you have them there.
• Approximately 1 week before each monthly meeting you will receive a note to confirm your attendance for that month’s meeting
• You are welcome to join the meetings of the other group if you are interested in that month’s topic. It is on a space available basis. (The Tuesday group typically meets on the 2nd Tuesday and the Thursday group meets on the 3rd Thursday in general)
• In CEO Insights, every seat counts. Due to the virus fears, we have been less strict about attending a minimum of six of the 12 meetings.
• If a seat becomes available in one of the groups for a new member, we will request your recommendations of CEOs that you think would be a good contributor to the group.

Thank you everyone for making 2021 another great year of business, connections, and insights to executive leadership of some of Japan’s best organizations.

Japan’s historic role in Asia as viewed from several significant global perspectives. The west, China, Korea, Taiwan, and ASEAN each view Japan and their relationships with her from very different view points, colored by their history with the country. And, Japan sees herself in an equally divergent way, also very much affected by her history and role in the region. These viewpoints color the relationships between these nations, and the way in which they trade, conduct diplomacy, and cooperate within international institutions. A quick flip of the map can help to understand how that came to be, and how it affects doing business in the region as a foreign party.

Four Things We Will Cover-

– How the world views Asia and Japan especially, based on their context in history.
– How Japan views the world and Asia especially, based on its context in history.
– How Taiwan got sandwiched in between these things.
– How all of this is shaping the march of current events, and the likelihood of a coming armed conflict in east Asia.

In this month’s CEO Insights lunch, we will welcome Robert Moss.  Robert is a former US navy officer and helicopter pilot.  Internationally experienced leader with extensive cross-cultural experience. Business Operations, program management, customer relations, business development and sales experience in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Extensive strategic planning, networking, team building, human resources, and personnel management skills developed over 30+ years in the Aerospace and Defense sector.

16 Sept, 1230PM to 1400PM

In CEO Insights, we hear a lot about the business issues of our members as well as outside guest c-levels in Japan and globally. One area that we’ve been wanting to cover was the role of business and professional organizations in winning business, influencing good governance and other areas.   Americans extensively used their embassy and chamber to get American cars and aerospace in Japan, the Brits have used their influence to promote UK military products and defense aerospace, and recently German universities have to promote and sell electric vehicle prototypes within Japan to Yamato.  How important are these professional organizations in winning the hearts and minds of new customers nationally?

In the Sept CI network lunch, we will welcome Mr. Nicolas Bonnardel, the Executive Director of the CCI France Japon (the French Chamber of Commerce In Japan).  It’s reported that the CCIFJ has just taken over as the largest foreign chamber organization in Japan.  In this closed door, open discussion with CI bosses, Mr. Bonnardel will share his thoughts on

• Cases of what companies did to win business locally in their industries
• How A Chamber can positively influence business
• Strengths and weaknesses of the JP market

Join us for this time of better understanding how to get your business into positive flow as you interact with other market leaders.

14 Sept 2021, 1230PM to 1400PM

The astute c-level knows that if you’re not growing with your product in the market place, chances are, you will be left behind in the future.  Businesses have to be constantly enhancing their offerings to meet the needs of the clients, whether it is existing or anticipated.  The hospitality industry in Japan is not typical.  It has many players, mostly offering commodity products, whether it be small rooms of the business hotels, convenient but disconnected from P&L or the higher end luxury hotels that don’t invest in the tech to make themselves most efficient.  With more than 30M inbound tourists in Japan in 2018, it would seem to be a great chance for the hospitality industry is being missed.

In the November CEO Insights lunch (G3), we will welcome Mr. Seth Sulkin who has really set the tone in Real Estate development in energy, shopping malls, and now hospitality.  In our interactive discussion, Seth will share insights into how he is building a new business that takes advantage of the changed market and where he sees the hotel industry heading.

More on Mr. Sulkin-

Seth will share some of his insights on the Japan market, where it has come from and where it is going.  His firm, Pacifica Capital, is now focused on the hospitality industry. Pacifica is building and operating internationally-branded hotels in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Date: 12 November 2019 (Tuesday) RSVP For Members here.

We’ve finally put the abnormally long rainy season behind us.  The heat of summer has certainly hit us.  What a great time to enjoy some time networking with other CEOs.

In our Summer OTR evening, we will catch up for food and drinks in central Tokyo, Nihonbashi.  In this casual get together of Asia’s leading CEOs and other c-levels, you’ll be able to enjoy the quickly developing Nihonbashi area, fondly known as “Mitsui Mura” as Mitsui Fudosan owns so many buildings in the area.

We’ll enjoy the Septieme Restaurant with it’s bar and terrace looking out over the area.

As this is a casual meeting, bosses just need to show up sometime between 1830 and 1900PM and enjoy whatever you like as you catch up with your peers in upper management.  Leave whenever you like and just settle your bill for whatever you consumed when you leave.  We plan to close up between 2030PM and 2100PM.

We will have some c-levels who are not CI Network members also join.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Venue details here

Most of this year we’ve had some excellent speakers and topics that we have developed regarding marketing, legal, human resources, and other areas of interest for the CEO and the c-level. In August, we’ll do something a bit different.  We’ll be having our members only Round Table.  Round table means we’ll have a list of significant topics, issues, and upcoming market changes to discuss where we’ll gain insights from each other on the latest information.  In the August CEO Insights lunch, we plan (but are not) limited to discuss

• The latest of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, less that a year away!
• Predictions for the next rise in consumption tax and it’s affect on the economy as well as our clients in consumer and corporate spending
• JKC!  (Japan, China, and Korea) What is on the horizon for trade in North Asia and greater Asia?  Will we see another Tiananmen Square in Hong Kong?  Will they get away with claiming remote islands in other territories?  Will Korea and Japan ever figure out their differences?

Join us for an unparalleled chance of getting insights for other industry c-levels

Date: 13 August 2019 (Tuesday)

Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm

Venue: Roppongi Hills Club

51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku, 106-6151

Most of this year we’ve had some excellent speakers and topics that we have developed regarding marketing, legal, human resources, and other areas of interest for the CEO and the c-level. In August, we’ll do something a bit different.  We’ll be having our members only Round Table.  Round table means we’ll have a list of significant topics, issues, and upcoming market changes to discuss where we’ll gain insights from each other on the latest information.  In the August CEO Insights lunch, we plan (but are not) limited to discuss

• The latest of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, less that a year away!
• Predictions for the next rise in consumption tax and it’s affect on the economy as well as our clients in consumer and corporate spending
• JKC!  (Japan, China, and Korea) What is on the horizon for trade in North Asia and greater Asia?  Will we see another Tiananmen Square in Hong Kong?  Will they get away with claiming remote islands in other territories?  Will Korea and Japan ever figure out their differences?

Join us for an unparalleled chance of getting insights for other industry c-levels

Date: 9 August 2019 (Friday)

Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm

Venue: Roppongi Hills Club – the horizon room

51F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku, 106-6151

Life is not just about knowing people, it’s about knowing good people. There’s no beating the quality of CEO Insights members and our guests around a table. As an executive, it can be lonely at the top and CI fills that void. As we close out and say “sayonara” to summer 2019, we want to give an extra opportunity for our CI groups to get to know each other. The evening of September 26th, we will break away from our regular luncheons and OTRs and have arranged a special event.

This evening of strictly food and networking gives members a chance to catch up with fellow CEOs after a relaxing summer break.

For the evening, real estate developer Pembroke welcomes us back for special outdoor barbecue reception at their luxurious Azabu Gardens property’s Rooftop

Terrace. The catering is by Soul Food House in Azabu. Please sign up early as space is limited to the first 25 CEOs to sign up.

CEO Insights – Sayonara Summer Barbecue (SS BBQ)

When: Thursday, September 26th, 7pm – 9pm.
Where: Azabu Gardens West (Behind Roppongi Hills)
Cost: 9,700 yen / person
RSVP: CI Support Team

*Payments shall be made via credit card (PayPal). Due to booking with the catering, no cancellations or refunds after 5pm on 19 Sept (Thursday).

Special thanks to Azabu Gardens for Hosting this event.