Results : president and five board members are women
Increasingly more members are keen to become involved in helping to run the chamber .
Our First Contested Election
Results : president and five board members are women
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
In recent years , the BCCJ has enjoyed a measure of success and a number of new developments : membership has risen steadily and organically , attendance at our events has continued to grow , while online engagement across seven digital platforms is at an all-time high .
Members in a variety of industries and from firms of all sizes have come to appreciate the value of the connections that membership can bring to their work and life in Japan . But , perhaps most significantly , increasingly more members are keen to become involved in helping to run the chamber .
So , at the annual general meeting on 25 April , we went to the polls for the first time in our 65-year history !
Increasingly more members are keen to become involved in helping to run the chamber .
After a nail-biting meeting , opened by British Ambassador to Japan Tim Hitchens CMG LVO , the Executive Committee election produced the following winners ( in alphabetical order ):
• Paul Atkinson ( Individual Member )
• David Bickle ( Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited )
• Ray Bremner OBE ( Unilever Japan )
• Graham Davis ( The Economist Group )
• James Dodds ( KPMG )
• Simon Farrell ( Custom Media K . K .)
• Philip T Gibb OBE ( Individual Member )
• Alison Jambert ( Eat Creative K . K .)
• Anna Pinsky ( Canning Professional , K . K .)
• Suzanne Price ( Price Global )
• Reiko Sakimura ( Clifford Chance )
• Vishal Sinha ( British Airways )
• Yayoi Sogo ( Individual Member )
• Richard Thornley CBE ( Rolls-Royce Japan Co ., Ltd .)
• James Weeks ( Kreab Gavin Anderson )
The election was hotly contested among 19 candidates and , for the first time , candidate statements and photos could be viewed online .
Interest was strong , with over 30 % of members registering votes within the allocated time , while it was soon standing room only in the meeting area .
Alison Jambert , whose first BCCJ ACUMEN column appears on page 15 , was elected chairperson to the executive committee . After Alison Pockett MBE , she is only the second female president in the history of the BCCJ .
Moreover , as if this isn ’ t enough , the number of female board members is unprecedented : five of the 15 are women .
In the 2013 – 14 chamber year , the British Embassy Tokyo continues to be represented in an ex-officio capacity by Sue Kinoshita , director of UK Trade and Investment at the British Embassy Tokyo .
Similarly , Jeff Streeter , British Council Japan director , represents his organisation for the next 12 months .
There is perhaps no greater measure of success for the BCCJ than the desire of members to play a part in further enhancing its value .
I ’ m genuinely looking forward to working with the new executive committee throughout the coming year , and to continue serving all BCCJ members .
Please join us in congratulating the winners and thanking all the candidates for their participation in this landmark election .
Lori Henderson MBE BCCJ Executive Director