Ai Nakagawa

Born in Japan and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, I graduated from the University of British Columbia and arrived to Japan in 2002.

I remember as a university student wandering through the beautiful Nitobe Inazo Memorial garden at the UBC campus and pledging that one day I would become a “Kakehashi” (bridge) that connected Canadian, Japanese, international people, cultures and businesses together.

With both my Japanese roots and Canadian upbringing, I look forward to further strengthening and adding value to the Canadian and Japanese relationship and the members of the CCCJ. During my time as governor I hope to create more business development opportunities for members, increase memberships and sponsorships, and further deepen collaborations with other chambers and businesses to bring practical and timely business information and connections to the CCCJ members.

I have been working in Japan for over 20 years in the hospitality, technology, and real estate sectors with the focus on sales, marketing and management. With over 10 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry I have helped hundreds of start-ups to global fortune 500 companies with advisory services for office space requirements in Japan and overseas. Currently, I advise international and domestic companies with occupier services including lease acquisition, lease renewal, relocation or consolidation services across office, warehousing and retail sectors.

In the early days of my career, I worked in one of Japan’s largest travel companies managing corporate and educational tours to overseas destinations. Thereafter, my entrepreneurial spirit and excitement towards start-up companies also led me to work in the technology scene allowing me to travel all over the world.

During my time in Japan I have been active in various organizations such as my involvement in the board of directors for FEW, as well as various chambers and networking organizations within Tokyo.

It is an honour to be a part of the board and I look forward to meeting you all in the months to come!