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Driving Culture Change at a Large Japanese Multinational Corporation (MNC)

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 | 12:50 – 1:50 PM (Lunch will be provided) 
Room 640, Geffen Hall, Columbia Business School
645 W. 130th St., New York, NY 10027 

Featuring:

Natsumi Akita

Senior Executive Officer; Group Chief Branding Officer; Group Chief Culture Officer, Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.

 

Moderator:
David E. Weinstein, Director, CJEB; Carl S. Shoup Professor of the Japanese Economy, Columbia University

Note: This event is part of CJEB’s Japanese Management Leadership Program.

About the event:

Mizuho Financial Group, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a global corporation encompassing diverse businesses such as banking, trust banking, securities, and research & technology. With a history even older than the Bank of Japan, Mizuho celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023, and the DNA of its founders continues to thrive within the company to this day. As a testament to the enduring legacy of Mizuho's primary founder, his portrait was chosen to adorn Japan's recently redesigned 10,000 JPY banknote.

 

This session will explore:

  • How Mizuho, with over 60,000 employees worldwide, fosters employee engagement and unites the hearts and minds of its employees across diverse business areas, regions, and cultures.
  • How Mizuho has undertaken a number of transformative initiatives since Natsumi Akita, with extensive management experience in several global corporations spanning finance to IT, joined the company's leadership team in 2022.
  • The specifics surrounding efforts to enhance employee engagement and drive cultural change within the organization.

Biography:

As Group Chief Branding Officer and Group Chief Culture Officer at Mizuho Financial Group, Natsumi Akita is responsible for group-wide culture reform and brand management.

Before joining Mizuho, Natsumi was VP of Adobe, where she was responsible for marketing and public relations in Japan, as well as promoting DEI and fostering a free and open organizational culture in the Tokyo office.

Prior to that, she spent nearly 20 years in the financial industry, including positions as VP of MasterCard Japan and General Manager of Digital Solutions at Citibank Japan.

Natsumi received her bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo, and her MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.

Admission and Contact: 

You must register to attend this event in person.

Special Notes:
● This in-person-only event is open to the public and will not be livestreamed.
● Please be advised that this event may be photographed, so your image may appear on our website later. If this is an issue, please let us know.
● Please bring a government-issued ID or Columbia University ID to access Columbia Business School
● This event is part of CJEB’s Japanese Management Leadership Program.
 

If you have questions about the event, please contact us at cjeb@gsb.columbia.edu. 

When
March 4th, 2025 from 12:50 PM to  1:50 PM
Location
Room 640, Geffen Hall
645 W. 130th St.
New York, NY 10027
United States

CENTER ON JAPANESE ECONOMY AND BUSINESS (CJEB)

Established at Columbia Business School in 1986 under the direction of its founder, Professor Hugh Patrick, and led currently by its director, Professor David E. Weinstein, the Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) promotes knowledge and understanding of Japanese business and economics in an international context. CJEB is a research organization widely recognized for its vigorous research activities, international symposia, conferences, and lectures, held in New York City and Tokyo, which provide prominent speakers from the public and private sectors a forum for collaboration and reflection on Japan, the United States, and the global economy. For more information, visit business.columbia.edu/cjeb.