Nina Michels-Kim

Born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a U.S. Air Force sergeant, Nina understood the significance of inter-cultural relations due to her international upbringing. With aspirations of joining the foreign service, she obtained her B.A. and M.S. in International Relations and Foreign Service at Pomona College (Claremont, CA) and Georgetown University (Washington, DC). During her studies, she maintained her Japanese fluency and worked as a temporary contractor for Pasona Inc. in Japan.

Towards the end of her graduate studies, Nina shifted her career focus from diplomacy to business. She entered the pharmaceutical industry and gained over 13 years of experience in controller and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) roles at multinational companies like Sandoz, Novartis, and Merck & Co. She also earned global professional certifications in finance and strategy: CMA (Certified Management Accountant) and CSCA (Certified in Strategy and Competitive Analysis).

Following her corporate experience, she served as a freelance consultant for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), a global non-profit with over 140,000 finance professionals as members worldwide. She worked with IMA for more than 12 years, initially as the Director of European Operations and later as the Director of Partnerships for Japan and Korea. This allowed Nina to fulfil her dream of using Japanese in her work, building relationships with C-level executives, finance professionals, and controllers across Europe, Korea, and Japan.

As a volunteer, Nina is a board member of IMA’s Japan chapter and serves as an advisor for the Japan Association of CFOs, supporting Japanese companies in implementing FP&A processes.