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Please join us for this special opportunity to have an open dialog with Debbie Howard, an experienced business person who has seen both the corporate and entrepreneurial sides of business life, as well as having served as President and Chairman of Japan's leading international business organization, the ACCJ. 

Having entered the workforce in the U.S. in the mid-70s and worked her way to be the second-highest ranking female within a Fortune 500 corporation, Ms. Howard then came to Japan in the mid-80s . . . which felt like starting all over again from a woman's perspective, since social change was lagging behind that in the west with regard to women in the workplace. 

As a trend watcher specializing in Japan, Ms. Howard has now watched the changes in Japanese society for over two decades, including her favorite topic - changes among Japanese women. Ms. Howard will cover a broad range of topics during this discussion, with three main focal points: 

• Career planning strategies 
• Entrepreneurship as an option 
• Balancing it all 

Debbie Howard is president of Japan Market Resource Network (JMRN), a Tokyo-based market research firm that advises multi-national companies on their marketing strategies in Japan and Asia. JMRN specializes in both trade and consumer research, with a focus on consumer products (i.e., retail banking/investment products and credit cards, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, IT/e-commerce, luxury branded goods, food and beverages, automotive, travel, etc.). 

She has lived in Japan for 26 years, and prior to founding JMRN 22 years ago, worked for the marketing research division of McCann-Erickson Hakuhodo, where she handled major consumer research accounts including Citibank, Dunhill, General Motors, Northwest Airlines and Swatch. She has a 35-year career overall in marketing and communications, having worked in public relations and advertising management, and in corporate communications and marketing support services for the Mead Corporation. 

She received her B.A. in advertising and marketing from the Journalism School of the University of South Carolina, and attended Graduate Business School at Georgia State University. Ms. Howard has addressed international marketing and marketing research audiences in the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. She is a past President of the ACCJ, leading the organization in 2004 and 2005 as the Chamber marked its 56th and 57th years. She was selected to serve as Chairman in 2006 and 2007, and continues to serve as President Emeritus.