Building technology that improves people's lives, and helping it reach Japan.
I am passionate about new technology that makes the world better. My career has focused on bringing global products into Japan, scaling them with local insight, and building teams that can keep growing after launch.
I currently lead Japan for Speak, an AI-powered language learning platform backed by OpenAI Startup Fund and Accel. Over the last 10+ years, I have helped global brands including Speak, Meta, Amazon, and DeNA localize, launch, and scale in Japan across AI education, advertising, entertainment, hardware, and mobile apps. My work combines GTM strategy, B2C growth, brand building, partnerships, measurement, and cross-cultural leadership.
Skills
Experience
Dec 2022 — Present
Country Manager
Speak
Leading overall P&L, strategy, and execution for Japan. Scaled the business from zero to multi-million ARR while reaching #1-#2 education category rankings and building a 10+ person local team.
Sep 2021 — Dec 2022
Marketing Manager
Meta
Led APAC-wide B2B marketing programs focused on performance marketing, signal loss, MMM, and incrementality testing for advertisers.
Apr 2015 — Aug 2021
Marketing Roles: Prime Video, Alexa, Amazon Media Group
Amazon Japan
Led Prime Video activation, launched the first Echo devices in Japan, expanded launches across APAC, and scaled advertising solutions for enterprise advertisers.
Apr 2012 — Mar 2015
Digital Marketing Manager
DeNA
Grew top-grossing mobile apps in Japan and globally through paid, owned, and earned channels, including a San Francisco taskforce focused on making the US subsidiary profitable.
Values
Ownership
I believe in full ownership: understanding the problem, making decisions, taking accountability, and getting things done even when the path is not perfectly defined.
Prioritization
Growth creates endless possibilities, but progress comes from choosing what matters most. I use clear mental models to identify the real issue, separate noise from signal, and focus the team on the work that will move the business.
Transparency
Teams move faster when context is shared openly. I aim for full transparency across people and functions so everyone understands what matters, where we stand, and how their work connects to the bigger goal.
How I work
- Start with market context, customer behavior, and business constraints before choosing channels.
- Build clear operating rhythms across global HQ, regional teams, local partners, agencies, and internal functions.
- Combine brand-building and performance discipline instead of treating them as separate worlds.
- Turn launches into repeatable playbooks so teams can keep scaling after the first campaign.