The Future of Work and Office Life: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

The pandemic has profoundly transformed offices and the way we work. More than three years later, employers and employees are adapting to an entirely new work world. Some companies have embraced going fully remote, while many are offering hybrid models, allowing employees to split work time between office and home. Companies find themselves navigating a new reality, addressing the best way to redefine workplace culture, improve employee engagement, and strengthen connections in a hybrid environment. How has the pandemic reshaped work in the United States and Japan? How can we use this new work environment to accelerate the advancement of women in leadership in the U.S. and Japan? What are some ways to reignite a connected workplace? In this program, the second major event to be held under Japan Society’s U.S.-Japan Women Leaders Initiative, our speakers discuss the new hybrid working environment and the opportunities and challenges of supporting women in their path to leadership positions in the U.S. and Japan.

Opening Remarks
Hirofumi (Hiro) Otsuka, Managing Executive Officer, SMBC Americas; CEO, Americas Division

Speakers
Keiko Tashiro, Member of the Board, Deputy President, Daiwa Securities Group Inc.
Susan Reid, Managing Director and Global Head of Talent, Morgan Stanley
Robin Milberg, Chief Human Resources Officer, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

Moderator
Joshua W. Walker, Ph.D., President & CEO, Japan Society

Agenda
6:30 – 7:30 pm: Discussion and Q&A
7:30 – 8:00 pm: Reception

Ticket/Admission Information
This is a free event with advance registration required.

About the Speakers

Robin Milberg is Chief Human Resources Officer for SMBC Group in the Americas, where she is responsible for developing and implementing the overall HR strategy for the Americas. This includes the full-life cycle of the employee’s experience from recruitment to retirement, as well as ensuring the supporting HR technology, data and operations are effective and efficient. Most recently, Milberg was SMBC’s Managing Director and Head of Human Resources for the Americas, where she led the HR’s day-to-day operations, overseeing significant organizational change and executive-level hiring and leading the team charged with developing new HR policies and processes to meet increasing industry regulatory requirements. Prior to joining SMBC in 2015, she was with the Royal Bank of Scotland in its Corporate and Institutional Banking division for eight years, where she held positions of increasing responsibility, including Managing Director and Senior HR Business Partner for Markets in the company’s London, England and Stamford, Connecticut offices. Milberg holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Connecticut.

Susan Reid is a Managing Director and Global Head of Talent at Morgan Stanley, and is a member of the Firm’s Management Committee. As Global Head of Talent, Reid works closely with the Firm’s leaders in the design of the Firm’s diversity and inclusion, talent acquisition, and talent development strategies. Reid has 25 years of human resource experience across a broad range of industries including financial services, telecommunications and higher education. Reid joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 as a Human Resource Business Partner supporting the Investment Management division. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Reid held a number of roles at various companies, including Human Resource Business Partner, and Head of Campus Recruiting and Diversity at Marsh and McLennan Companies, Head of Campus and Diversity Recruiting at Bell Atlantic, Head of Recruiting at RR Donnelley’s financial services division and Head of Employment at New York University. Prior to transitioning to Human Resources, Reid was an Assistant Director in Student Services at New York University where she developed and led programs to retain and advance academically gifted students of color. Reid serves on the boards of the Morgan Stanley Foundation, Storefront Academy Charter Schools, iMentor New York City’s Advisory Board, and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council. She has a degree in Economics and Political Science from New York University and lives in Harlem, New York. 

Keiko Tashiro began her career with the Daiwa Securities Group in 1986, following her graduation from Waseda University with a BA in Political Science. She received an MBA from Stanford University in 1991 and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2011. She has held various positions at Daiwa, including overseas assignments in Singapore, London and New York. In Japan, in addition to her role as Head of Investor Relations between 1999 and 2005, she spent six years in the retail division of the Group, expanding the non-branch channel (online and call center) and defining a business model for the Group’s retail operations. She held the position of Senior Managing Director, Head of FICC for two years before serving as Executive Managing Director and Chairperson of Daiwa Capital Markets America from 2013-16. She was appointed Senior Executive Managing Director of Daiwa Securities Group, Head of Overseas Operations in 2016 and Deputy President in 2019. She took office as Deputy President, Head of Overseas Operations and Head of SDGs in 2020, and she has served as Deputy President, Executive Head of Overseas Operations, Head of SDGs and Head of Think Tank from April 2022. She also serves as Vice Chairman at the Japan Association of Corporate Executive and a trustee of the IFRS foundation.

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This event is co-organized by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation


The U.S.-Japan Women Leaders Initiative is made possible, in part, by a generous grant from The Japan Foundation, with additional leadership support provided by Morgan Stanley.

Business & Policy programs are generously supported by Japan Society Global Leaders & Corporate Partners. Global Leaders Corporate Partners