Talent 2

As a co-founder of Talent2 Tokyo I joined Talent2 in 2007 and currently hold the title General Manager, sharing responsibility for overall office performance with Will Hall.   I focus most of my energy on the Financial Services and Technology Practices, as well as overall business strategies and operational efficiencies.  I continue to be an active specialist consultant within the Financial Technology field, and also often act as the generalist for the office, managing unusual, niche and hard to fill searches.

I began my career in executive search in 2004 with a competitor firm, earning my stripes as a researcher and associate before taking over the banking technology practice.  During my three and a half years at that firm I completed numerous searches for senior IT management executives within leading global investment banks and asset management firms.  By the time I left I was one of my company's top producers in Japan as well as Asia.

During my recruitment career I have been ranked highly in the AsiaMoney annual Headhunters poll several times.  I have been ranked as Japan's #1 recruiter for banking technology for the last three years, as well as placing sixth over all categories in 2011.  My clients have generally praised me for my ethical and considered approach to recruitment and for my ability to devise unique solutions to their specific challenges.

Prior to my career in recruitment, I had a brief but meaningful turn in international economic development and academia.  I was fortunate to spend two years in Vientiane, Laos, teaching journalism and geography at the Lao-American College.  While there, I mentored my students to form the country's fist student-run newspaper, which continued operating for several years after I moved to Japan.  I hold a BA from Johns Hopkins University; speak intermediate to advanced Japanese as well as basic German and Lao; am a student of chess; and write poems for special occasions.

I am extremely proud of the culture we have created here at Talent2 Tokyo.  In just four years of operation we have established ourselves as Japan's leading financial services and legal executive search firm.  More importantly, though, we have created an extremely positive culture and a team of highly skilled and self-motivated professionals.  Since our founding in 2007 we have had near-zero staff turnover, successfully navigating the global financial crisis without cutting a single staff member.  None of our employees has left us to join a competitor, although they are frequently approached.  We've achieved this simply by making our people our top priority, and the results speak for themselves.