Tokyo, Japan
Keiko Takaki has significant experience in international business, especially in Asia. Keiko has worked as a manager for local companies in China and Taiwan and has also worked for a consulting firm in Japan, helping Japanese companies with their global business strategies. Keiko holds an M.B.A. degree from the University of Bath, UK. Currently, as a professional coach, Keiko focuses on helping leaders and teams improve their performance and organizational culture.
After graduating from Nanzan University with a B.A. in English and American Studies, Keiko started her career at a leading Japanese travel agency where she worked in corporate sales for 4 years. Keiko then moved to Shanghai, where she studied Mandarin Chinese and took a position as a sales manager at a local hotel, responsible for developing the Japanese market. At that time, Keiko was the only foreigner in the Chinese company, which raised her awareness of cross-cultural communication.
While Keiko herself felt the language and cultural barriers within the company, as a representative of the Chinese company, she focused on overcoming cross-cultural differences in business culture between Chinese and Japanese companies to build a win-win business relationship. After spending 2.5 years in Shanghai, Keiko moved to a hotel managed by an international hotel chain in Taiwan and worked as a manager for another 2.5 years. Then Keiko moved to the U.K. to obtain an M.B.A.
Keiko returned to Japan from the U.K. and was involved in the launch of an internet-related company, and then joined Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting where she was engaged in consulting and research on overseas business strategies for major Japanese companies and government agencies such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Keiko worked on many projects supporting Japanese companies’ business development in emerging markets in China and Southeast Asia.
After several years of being a full-time mother, Keiko came back to work as a design strategist at an American design firm, where she was involved in service concept creation and branding consulting. Currently, Keiko helps professionals, leaders, executives and their teams improve their performance through business coaching and workshop-based training. Keiko is an ICF Associate Certified Coach.
