Group Mentoring Program

Japan Society through its U.S.-Japan Women Leaders Initiative is inaugurating a Group Mentoring Program designed to focus on the acceleration of the professional development of Japanese working women in the U.S.-Japan space. Through the Group Mentoring Program, participants will have the opportunity to learn together from mentors who will foster collaboration and community among the mentees while imparting skills and knowledge that will facilitate opportunities for their professional advancement.

Program Duration

The first-year Group Mentoring Program will run for a duration of approximately 6 months, starting from October 2023 and ending in May 2024 (with a break in December and January).

Program Curriculum

As participants in the Group Mentoring Program, mentees will be expected to fulfill the following requirements:

• Attendance at Major Events and Workshops organized under the S.-Japan Women Leaders Initiative. Mentees are encouraged to attend as many of these events as possible.
• Attendance at mentorship sessions is mandatory. Mentors and mentees will be meeting in a group (rather than in pairs) once a month and will alternate between virtual and in-person meetings. Each meeting will be an hour long.
• Mentees are required to take notes during the mentorship sessions and provide a one-paragraph summary that highlights the key ideas discussed during the session. This summary should be shared with the Japan Society representative. Mentees will take turns in this responsibility.
• Mentees are expected to respond to Japan Society’s questionnaires and surveys in a timely and thorough manner. These questionnaires and surveys are mandatory.

Call for Mentee Nominations

This program will target Japanese mid-career professional women in the New York metropolitan area, particularly experienced and highly competent women who have a strong desire to further their professional journey. To be eligible for this program, their employer must hold corporate membership with Japan Society. These individuals may be employed for either Japanese or American companies.

If your company is interested in nominating a candidate as a mentee, kindly email Japan Society’s Business & Policy Forum at [email protected]. Nominations must be submitted by August 15, 2023. To ensure a complete nomination, please include the participant’s full name, position title, email address, and brief bio (one paragraph in narrative form).

Please note that space is limited, and there may be a possibility that not all nominees can participate in this year’s program. However, we value all nominations and will strive to accommodate as many candidates as possible.

About the Mentors

Japan Society has meticulously chosen a group of mentors who are committed to fostering women’s empowerment within the U.S.-Japan workplace. These mentors possess exceptional proficiency, knowledge, and expertise in their respective professions, and we are confident in their ability to provide valuable guidance to mid-career professionals seeking to advance their careers. Please find below the mentors for this year’s program.

Stephanie Bowker (Managing Director, Joint General Manager of Corporate & Investment Banking, Head of Automotive, Transportation & Mobility, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation)

Stephanie Bowker is a joint-general manager of the Corporate and Investment Bank and the head of the Automotive, Transportation & Mobility group within SMBC Americas. She joined SMBC in February 2020 and is responsible for a broad array of clients. Prior to joining SMBC, Bowker was a Managing Director within the Corporate and Investment Bank at Citi. During her 13-year career there, Bowker was the primary relationship manager for a broad portfolio of auto and related companies and was responsible for the global auto credit portfolio. Bowker lives in NYC with her husband and daughter. She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and her MBA from Georgetown University.

Miyoko Demay (Vice Chair, Women in Business Committee, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan; Demay Luxury Consulting; Former President, Tiffany & Co. Japan)

Miyoko Demay is a highly effective executive leader with a distinguished career at Tiffany & Co., one of America’s great institutions and a world-renowned jeweler that designs, manufactures, and markets its unique products via over 350 stores worldwide. In 30 years at Tiffany & Co. she held various positions at the NY headquarters and in International markets. As President of Tiffany Japan, Vice President of Global Sales Operations, and in other roles, she built highly effective teams and 360º roadmaps that reinvented the client journey across the company’s retail branches, inclusive of sales and clienteling interactions, visual presentation, merchandising and omnichannel retail growth. Demay completed the Advanced Management Program at Columbia Business School for Executive Education. She also holds certificates in Diamonds & Colored Gemestones from the Gemological Institute of America. In 2022, Demay was awarded the prestigious Dame Chevalier status from the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, the 300-year-old official guild representing the champagne industry.

Frances Green (Partner, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.)

Frances Green is a trial lawyer and counselor, and she is expected to complete her Master of Laws in Cybersecurity and Data Privacy at Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in December 2023. Green has studied and worked in Japan as a nun and is conversant in Japanese. In her capacity as a management employment attorney, she has been a featured speaker before the Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) in Tokyo and Osaka, the Japan Society, and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the subject of corporate localization in the United States and the attendant legal issues in managing American employees. Green lectures frequently to corporate executives throughout the United States and overseas, and has authored numerous articles published worldwide on the issues of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, and related litigation. She has been quoted as a case commentator in The New York Times and various trade and professional journals on employment litigation. To read her complete bio, click here.

Keishi Hotsuki (Senior Advisor/Former Chief Risk Officer, Morgan Stanley)

Keishi Hotsuki is a Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Hotsuki was the Chief Risk Officer of Morgan Stanley from 2011 to 2023 after he joined the firm in 2008 as the Head of Market Risk Management. Mr. Hotsuki began his career at Fuji Bank in 1984, where he worked primarily in the Fixed Income Trading Division. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Hotsuki worked at Bankers Trust as the Head of Market Risk Management Japan/Asia. Mr. Hotsuki joined Merrill Lynch in 1999 as the Head of Market Risk Management for the Japan/Asia Pacific Region and was the Global Head of Market Risk Management from 2005 to 2007. Mr. Hotsuki holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hitotsubashi University and a Masters of Science in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University. Mr. Hotsuki is a Board Member of Japan Society. He is also an advisory Board Member of four university institutes; Tepper School of Business and Master of Computation Finance at Carnegie Mellon, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University and the New York University Stern Volatility and Risk Institute’s (VRI).