Kansai Next-Generation Leaders Mentorship Forum

Language: English
*If mentoring in Japanese is preferred, please contact ACCJ
Costs: 5,000 JPY (incl. tax) | For AHK Japan members only  
*Cancellations after the registration deadline or no-show will be charged in full 
Registration Deadline: Friday, 3. September 2026, 17:00 (JST)
*Registrations are handled on a first-come, first-served basis
Expected Number of Participants: 60 
Catering: light refreshments
 

Executive director of Morgan Stanley’s operations in Osaka, Tetsuo Kawada is also head of Japan shared services and banking operations. He joined Morgan Stanley in November 2019. Prior to his current role, he served as head of Japan fixed-income operations, partnering with the business on F2B operational support and strategic project delivery related to Alliance 2.0. He represents a number of industry-wide committees and working groups in Japan, working closely with the regulators and the business units. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Kawada started his career at Goldman Sachs Japan and worked on different teams within operations. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.

With Eli Lilly Japan since 2002, Kevin Yamaga-Karns has led both the legal and the ethics and compliance organizations for more than 20 years. He also served for four years in Lilly’s head office in Indianapolis, supporting government affairs, drug pricing, and a range of strategic initiatives.

Before joining Eli Lilly, he was a senior associate at the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he worked in their Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo offices. His practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, complex financing, and cross-border transactions.

Yamaga-Karns currently serves as chair of the Legal & Compliance Committee of the Japan-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). He also serves as governor for the Kansai region on the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Board of Governors. He earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas and is a member of the California Bar Association.

Vice president of global technology and innovation at Universal Studios Japan (USJ), Ted Takahashi leads the delivery of digital products and technology capabilities that transform both the guest and crew experiences. His mission is to enable and accelerate USJ’s digital journey, creating delight for guests through innovative, scalable, and effective digital capabilities.

Takahashi is a technology and operations executive with more than 20 years of experience spanning global enterprise technology and consumer entertainment. His career includes leadership roles at IBM and PlayStation, where he led large-scale service operations and established the CIO Office, partnering closely with CIOs and executive leadership teams. He is known for translating strategy into measurable outcomes, transforming team culture, strengthening operational discipline, and delivering meaningful business value through effective governance and strategic vendor management. Takahashi holds an executive MBA from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor of arts in law from Keio University.

A hospitality and commercial leader with international experience across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Ewoud Roosjen currently serve as commercial director at Waldorf Astoria Osaka, where he leads sales, marketing, revenue, and events strategy for one of Japan’s newest luxury hotels. His career has been shaped by building high-performing teams, opening and repositioning luxury brands, and helping people grow with confidence in complex, fast-changing environments. Worked across different cultures and markets has taught him that successful leadership combines clear expectations, commercial discipline, curiosity and genuine care for people.

Alongside his professional role, Roosjen is completing an executive MBA. He enjoys mentoring young professionals navigating their first leadership roles, considering an international career, or looking to develop stronger communication, commercial, and personal decision-making skills. He aims to offer practical, honest guidance rooted in real experience, while creating a space where mentees can reflect, challenge themselves, and define what success means for them.

Senior manager of APAC operations and site general manager for Amazon Japan’s Osaka artificial general intelligence assets team, Justin L. Romsa is a seasoned operations professional with more than 15 years of experience in Japan. He has managed large teams of 1,500-plus people in locations spread across dozens of countries, and has spent the majority of his career working in the fast-paced world of machine learning model development for operations products and devices.

Prior to Amazon, he spent years working in the pharmaceutical industry as a regional operations strategy manager, leading multiple international integration projects, process improvement initiatives, and business development activities in Asia, Europe, and Japan. He completed his undergraduate studies in computer science and international business in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, and later continued his education with an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona.