Women in Japanese Business – Panel Discussion

Details

Panelists:

Masako Furuta

Executive Vice President, Toyota Boshoku America

Masako Furuta joined Toyota Boshoku in 1993, bringing her expertise to the development of seat fabrics, an essential component of automotive interior design. In 2012, she expanded her role to oversee interior space planning, shaping the vision for cutting-edge automotive interiors.

Since 2022, Masako has been based at Toyota Boshoku’s Silicon Valley Innovation Hub which serves as a research base for automated driving and cockpits for future vehicles. There she established a local team to drive advanced development initiatives. As Executive Vice President of Toyota Boshoku America, she is responsible for leading U.S. R&D.

Makiko Kawabe

Senior Researcher, Digital Health, Sompo Digital Lab and former US-ATMC Visiting Scholar

After receiving her MMSc, Public Health, Makiko joined Mitsubishi Research Institute, where she was involved in research and studies on healthy longevity in Japan and other Asian countries. She has more than 15 years of experience in policy development support for the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and has extensive knowledge of Japan’s long-term care insurance system and the senior market in general, care management, age-tech,etc. She was a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s US-Asia Technology management center in 2022, where she conducted a comparative study on healthcare ecosystem development in Japan and Silicon Valley. Currently at SOMPO Digital Lab Silicon Valley, she is responsible for connecting Silicon Valley innovations in the healthcare and well-being areas to new businesses in Japan. She is a Thought-Leadership Partner of the Institute for Innovation, Strategy & Leadership (ISL), a Think & Act tank focused on innovation in elder care in the United States.

Yueyuan (Jenna) Yang

Vice President and Research & Development Analyst, Nippon Life X Silicon Valley, and current US-ATMC Visiting Scholar

Yueyuan (Jenna) Yang serves as a Research & Development Analyst at the Innovation Center of Nippon Life Insurance Company, known as Nippon Life X.

Yueyuan began her journey with Nippon Life in 2012. In the 4 years leading up to her transfer to Silicon Valley in 2023, she worked at Nippon Life X Tokyo, where she focused on exploring digital insurance technology and innovation investment. Throughout her time at Nippon Life, she has been actively involved in system development and global business planning.

She earned her B.A. in Industrial Engineering and Economics from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. Originally from China, she now lives and enjoys life in the Bay Area with her family.

Kimberley Williams

Senior Program Manager, US-ATMC (Guest Moderator)

Kimberley completed both her BA in American Studies and MA in Tourism Administration at The George Washington University in Washington DC.  She worked previously at Stanford University for the Graduate School of Business for nine years in a variety of roles, the last of which was Associate Director at the Center for Global Business and the Economy managing the global study trips program where all MBA students must satisfy a Global Experience Requirement prior to graduation.  After the GSB, Kimberley became a Senior Manager in Commercial Operations at Jazz Pharmaceuticals.  Most recently, she was a Program Manager with Cisco Systems working in Corporate Social Responsibility and managing Cisco’s relationship with the World Economic Forum before coming back to Stanford University to join the US-Asia Technology Management Center.