Board Members
Our board members come from various fields of profession. The current JaNet board of directors and advisers include the following well-accomplished individuals –
Hirofumi Sakaeda (Chairman of the Board)
Since joining Asatsu-DK (ADK) in 1989, Hirofumi Sakaeda, the current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Asatsu-DK America, has become a management expert in the field of global advertisement/marketing strategies. He has worked with a number of major Japanese corporations as the international advertising/marketing/branding manager to help their U.S. launch and business strategies. He received an MBA from Columbia University.
Mike Kida (Vice Chairman of the Board)
Founder/President/CEO of Johnman USA, Inc., the company directly responsible for the popularization of Karaoke/Karaoke Box in the U.S., Mike Kida currently owns and runs 16 Karaoke lounges in major American cities including NY, LA, Atlanta and Seattle, with many more in the planning including in Europe. The company also develops innovative karaoke equipment and systems. Mike Kida moved to New York in 1994 after graduating from Doushisha University.
Yasuyuki Kojima (Vice Chairman of the Board)
Yasuyuki Kojima has more than 24-year experience in the hotel industry. Before being appointed as the Director/Deputy General Manager in The Kitano New York and Hotel Operations, he has served as a Project Manger for the hotel’s 1993 renovation. In 1998, he was awarded the distinguished “Chief Concierge in the Metropolitan Area.” Graduate of Seijo University (Economic Management) and Paul Smiths College (Hotel & Restaurant), he has lived in the U.S. for the past 25 years.
Jun Nakanishi (Executive Director)
A translator/music and event producer/art gallery consultant (NYCoo Gallery), Jun Nakanishi has previously managed several businesses including Panasonic IndyCar Racing Car Team’s U.S. operations (1991~1995) and a stage lighting company (1988~1991). He also heads Noon Tan Music, a music publishing company. Studied at Columbia University (Maj. in architecture) and Parsons School of Design (Maj. in graphic design/photography). He has been the U.S. resident since 1969.
Hitomi Fujisaki (Vice Executive Director)
Hitomi Fujisaki is a former IT engineer for the Panasonic (2000~2007) where he played a major role in the development of laptop computers, earning more than 10 patents in the U.S. and Japan. He established Mirai IT Solutions, Inc., a New York state corporation specialized in IT-related technical/engineering solutions, in 2007. A New York resident since 2006, Hitomi Fujisaki received a master’s degree from Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan.
Megumi Yamada (Director)
Megumi Yamada started her career as a graphic designer at CBS Sony (now Sony Music Entertainment). In 1996, having spent years at top design and advertisement firms covering multiple media – web, print, direct marketing, and radio – she opened her own creative design office. In 2000, she was invited to join an emerging IT company in the US. She is currently serving as the Communication DIrector for Nimbus Works.
Yoshi Amao (Director)
An actor/emcee/expert samurai sword fighter, Yoshi Amao arrived in New York in 1990. A member of Screen Actors Guild, he has appeared on Samurai Sportsman (OLN), Late Night with Conan O’Brien (NBC), “Deadly She-Wolf Assassin at Armageddon” at the Japan Society, and Monday Night Football promo on ESPN as well as Budweiser Commercials (The Best Commercial of the Year in 2000). He is also the founder/producer of Samurai Sword Soul and Samurai Boot Camp!
Sonomi Kikuchi (Director)
Sonomi Kikuchi, originally from Tokyo, came to U.S. at the age of eighteen as a part of international exchange program. After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree from Temple University Architecture School in Philadelphia, PA, she started her carrier as an assistant architect in Philadelphia and New Jersey in the commercial architectural field. She currently works for the New York City’s Department of Sanitation (Engineering Division) as an assistant architect and urban designer.
EL Kamada (Director)
An accomplished actor/dancer, EL Kamada began acting training in 1991 with Zen Hirano who is a member of the Actors Studio in New York. He studied ballet at the New York Conservatory of Dance with the late Vladimir Dokoudovsky who promoted EL to the role of Pierrot in Carnaval. He founded the Faune Dance Troupe in 2000, and NPO Asian Society of Arts in 2004. A New Yorker for the past 16 years, he has been active both in performing arts and cultural exchange activities.
Rei Miura (Director)
After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Seinan Gakuin University in Japan, Rei Miura worked for a trading company in Tokyo, engaged in import and sales of military equipment for Japanese Self Defense Agency. She currently works for a Japanese real estate company in NY as the president’s secretary as well as in the field of marketing, property management and accounting. She has a New York State real estate license.
Tetsu Usui (Director)
As the founder/president of Japan Project Services, Inc., a total architectural consulting/design agency established in 1992, Tetsu Usui has been involved in numerous construction/renovation projects throughout the New York City area. The company provides unique services that combine the merits of both the Western and Japanese architectural philosophies. He has been living in the U.S. since 1979.
Tomohiro Kurosu (Director)
Arrived in New York 5 years ago as an international exchange student, Tomohiro Kurosu has since founded ILIS Inc., a company specialized in assisting/supporting of international students who come to New York to study. A member of ABPS (Alliance for Business Professional Services), he is involved in the planning of over 60 seminars annually as well as other activities aimed at helping Japanese community in New York.
Kenji Mori (Director)
A graduate of an industrial technology school, Kenji Mori first became an electrical engineer in his hometown in Aichi prefecture before moving to Tokyo to study photography. In New York since 2000, he has established himself as a top-notch performing arts photographer covering musicians, dancers, actors as well as various entertainment/cultural events in and around New York City. He considers photographing of NY cultures as his lifework.
Yuki Katayama (Director)
Yuki Katayama has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. As a real estate investor and the president of a real estate maintenance company called Waku Waku Labo, Inc. (a New York state corporation established in 2008), he provides building management services in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Yuki who is 24, is the youngest member of the JaNet board of directors.
Hideaki “Don” Iwatani (Honorary Chairman of the Board/Adviser)
Former Chairman/CEO of Panasonic U.S.A., Don Iwatani who came to the U.S. in the late 60s, is a member of the board of directors of Meiji University where he also serves as a special lecturer. He spends several months each year in Dalian, China as a visiting professor at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics. As an author, Don Iwatani wrote “Matshushita Kounosuke Lives,” a book about philosophies, life and memories of Kounosuke Matushita, the founder of Panasonic (2009).
Emiko Lindsay Akutagawa (Adviser)
Executive Director, NPO Friends of Rinri Kenkyusha Inc.
Saori Kawano (Adviser)
President, Korin Japanese Trading Corp.
George Itagoshi (Founder/Adviser)
Founded JaNet in 2001. A successful entrepreneur active both in New York and Japan, George Itagoshi owns several businesses including a publishing company (American Dream Publishing) and retail shops. Also an author, he has written and published several books in Japan. Graduate of the University of South Carolina where he studied International Politics, George Itagosh is currently enrolled in Chuo University’s MBA program. He has lived in the U.S. for the past 22 years.