Episode 12

Episode 12

Episode 11:  Yoshi Suzuki (Nishimachi 2001, ASIJ 2005) Strategist, Consultant, and Voice Actor 

Yoshi explains to Nick the fundamental differences between the pursuit of a Ph.D. in the natural sciences in comparison to the social sciences, and how these differences led towards his perspective that a Ph.D. in social sciences is one not worth pursuing. The two discuss the complexities of social science itself as an endeavor, and how by nature its designs are often not founded on enough theory.  Yoshi finds the ecosystem of social sciences being sustainable through tuition alone limiting, and much of the research was "research for the sake of research", unlike other fields that were making immediate differences based on their research results.   

The two discuss what it means to be a "consultant" and how the term itself is very vague, and often depends on the type of consultation and whether not the individual is staffed by the client or by the consulting company.  Yoshi explains to Nick about the company he works for, and what type of person they are looking to hire as they recruit talent for their newly opening Tokyo office.  The two towards the end briefly discuss how the tech sector and the United States have been trailblazers in regards to changing "professional clothing", and has shifted the focus from what you wear to what you accomplish, productivity At the end of the conversation, Yoshi shares with Nick his experience of doing kabuki in Nishimachi igniting his passion for theater, and how that led towards professional gigs in high school and college, and the today (part-time).    

From Yoshi: By the way, WE ARE HIRING in Tokyo! ​If you are a technical architect, Scrum Master, Product Manager, business/operations consultant, or change management consultant who is interested in a new challenge, reach out to me on LinkedIn!  ​

Yoshi Suzuki (EP #11)

Upon graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota, Yoshi started his career in digital advertising at a small agency in Tokyo. He then returned to Minnesota to start a Masters degree in Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and was later admitted to its Ph.D. program. Upon successfully completing the preliminary written and oral examinations, he left the program to return to the industry. After various strategy roles in advertising agencies, digital agencies, and client-side settings, he joined Slalom, a modern consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Seattle, Slalom has grown to over 8,000 employees and one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. After spending three years leading teams and helping clients in customer engagement, agile transformation, and product innovation projects, he took a new role in June 2019 to help launch and establish Slalom’s newest global market in Tokyo. In his free time, he advises startups and freelances as a translator and voiceover talent.  From Yoshi: 

Slalom Home page: https://www.slalom.com/home Yoshi's 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bunguman/  

Episode 10 Aya Porte (ASIJ 2008) Occupational Therapy

Aya Porte

Episode 9 Tom Eldridge  

Tom explains why he chose to go the route of HR as a career path, and why his interest in people and business perfectly meshed in the world of recruitment and HR.  Tom explains the differences in how COVID-19 has affected the markets in the US vs Japan vs the UK. He also elaborates in regards to the differences one should consider when applying to jobs in each of these three nations and how their cultural differences can affect the recruitment process, and how the recent surge in start-ups in Tokyo have altered the landscape of hiring in Japan.  Tom provides Nick with some pointers in regards to matters such as how to write a CV, how to interview online, and how to adapt to the new circumstances in regards to recruitment for jobs in the post-COVID-19 era.  Tom explains common myths in regards to the recruitment process for any given job, especially in regard to CV writing.   Nick has always been puzzled about whether or not his interest in football should be included in his CV. Tom explains why this is a tricky part of the CV writing and​ evaluation process.  

Tom Eldridge 

St. Mary's International School (2005)  

Upon graduating from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada, Tom spent a 5-month stint in Zambia Africa, volunteering building houses with Habitat for Humanity and building learning curriculums for local schools. Following this experience, Tom moved back to Japan to learn Japanese in a language school for a year, and sought out an internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers Japan in Human Resources. It is during this experience that his love for all things HR developed, he cycled through different HR teams, namely, Learning & Development, Global Mobility, Compensation to name a few. Fast forwarding a bit more, Tom found himself in the world of Recruiting, due to his interest in people problem-solving.  He works as a Senior Talent Acquisition professional at Cisco Systems. He has spent 3 years with Cisco in London, UK, and has been back with the company in Tokyo for just over a year now. Tom enjoys working through talent-related challenges.  Timestamps

Episode 4 Sarah Whitten

Sarah shares with Nick the obstacles of being a young female professional in the male-dominated world of finance.  The two discuss how maternity leave varies from country to country, and how the Nordic model and European models and differ, and how these models may or may not serve as model examples of equitable treatment of woman in the USA where there are 0 days of mandated maternity leave.  Sarah explains why she left New York City for South Africa, and why "emerging markets" played a major role when she was deciding her destination after New York.  Sarah explains to Nick the craziness she had to endure having to give birth at a hospital during peak COVID-19 season in South Africa, and how the nation has dealt relatively successfully with the disease thus far.   

Sarah Whitten (ASIJ 05) ​

Upon graduating from Northwestern University, Sarah moved to New York City for a role in the International Graduate program at Standard Chartered Bank, a 2-year program rotating in various divisions and periodic global off-sites recruits from across the world, allowing analysts to create a network spanning Hong Kong to Dubai to Nigeria.   Following the program she remained in New York as an Associate in the Debt Capital Markets team (responsible for bond issuances for large corporates). Sarah then moved to South Africa with Standard Chartered and is currently a Global Account Manager, managing a portfolio of multinational corporates and serving as the main point of contact for CEOs, CFOs, and Treasurers for banking requirements.   Sarah is also passionate about embedding Diversity and Inclusion initiatives into the DNA of corporate life and serves the Chairwoman for the Diversity and Inclusion Council for the bank in South Africa.  Timestamps

Disclaimer *Although Nathan paints a negative picture of China there are others who think the opposite, and Nathans views do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast or host.  

Episode 8 Nathan Baker (ASIJ 2004)

Nathan speaks to Nick about his close to two decades in China, and how living there as an expatriate has transformed greatly in the past two decades.   Nathan explains how his intrigue with China started with a high school trip in 2001 to China, and how learning Chinese in University helped him adapt to living in China in the late 2000s.  Nathan explains how life in China under the rule of Hu Jintao was very different in comparison to life in China under Xi Jinping, and why many expatriates are now moving out of China due to recent anti-foreigner sentiment.  

Nathan Baker 

He graduated ASIJ in 2004, now working in advertising in China. He’s currently a Group Account Director for We Are Social in the North Asia region — taking Asia Pacific-based brands global on social media & digital while also helping multinational corporations navigate social & digital in China. ​Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, he has not been able to return to China now for over five months and will be on the podcast ZOOMing in from Maryland, USA.

Episode 7 Jack Fischl (ASIJ 2006)

Episode 6 Phil Williams (ASIJ 2000)

Phil Williams

Episode 5 Andrew Brown (ASIJ 2004)

Andrew Brown

Episode 3: Vasil Stefanov (ASIJ 2006)

Episode 3: Vasil Stefanov