Annamarie Sasagawa
Candidate for Governor & Chair
I’m Annamarie Sasagawa, your current vice chair and candidate for chair of the CCCJ. It’s an honour to have been nominated for chair. I truly appreciate your confidence in me.
I grew up in British Columbia and first came to Japan 22 years ago. I lived on Shikoku first, then Tokyo. I’ve held marketing and communications leadership roles in corporate Japan for the last decade, first at Kao and now at Hitachi, where I’m the director of Hitachi’s brand strategy group. I’m also an MBA instructor at the University of Tsukuba. I have a PhD in anthropology from the University of Tokyo, an MA in environment from SFU, and a BA in English and Japanese from UVic. Go Vikes!
I’m the type of person who likes to focus on the fundamentals, and that’s what I will do as chair. Over my years as a governor then your two-term vice chair, I’ve seen how powerful the chamber can be when we get the basics right—when our focus is clear, members are actively involved, logistics run smoothly, and we have frequent opportunities to connect as a community at mixers, events, and of course the Maple Leaf Gala, pulled off in style every year by the amazing Gala Committee.
Between the galas and golf, I’ve also seen the value the CCCJ can provide to our members as you make important business decisions. To state the obvious, the Canada-Japan trade relationship is in a transitional phase. There’s a lot for our members to navigate as you expand into the Canadian or Japanese markets, consider new investments, and adjust strategy for a rapidly changing operating environment.
Although we value our close working relationship, the CCCJ is independent from the embassy and provincial offices. We are member-driven, private sector organization representing the Canada-Japan business community, and as such we have a unique role to play. In my view, the CCCJ’s job is to represent our members and help you turn turbulence into opportunity.
It’s not a particularly fancy electoral platform, but I think I’m a good candidate to go with if you value clear focus and solid governance. I’ll work with the incoming board, leverage the experience of our Honorary Board of Advisors, and involve all members to build an active, effective, and focused chamber. We will set our priorities, get stuff done, and have some fun.
