Dr. Jackie F. Steele, enjoi CEO and founder, was pleased to be invited to be a panellist for this Purchasing Power with Purpose event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce Japan (ACCJ) together with the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Ireland Chamber of Commerce in Japan and Swedish Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Japan. This hybrid event was held on April 4th at Google Japan in Shibuya and aimed to introduce the Pride Business Alliance Japan, the first LGBTQ chamber of commerce for the Japanese market.
From the largest global corporations to the smallest local businesses, supplierdiversity benefits everyone and can help level the playing field for underrepresented groups. Speaking as a CCCJ Governor and as CEO of enjoi Japan, Dr. Steele joined with keynote speakers and fellow panellists to share about her experiences as a woman and queer CEO in Japan, and to exchange in an informative and engaging evening with other allies working on this vital topic of diversifying supply chains. The audience learned about what Supplier Diversity (SD) is, and why it is important to companies looking to enrich the ideas and solutions in their pipeline, while strengthening their efforts on thought diversity and sustainability as a whole.
This was the perfect chance to hear about how nonprofit and for-profit organisations such as WE Connect, FEW Japan and PBAJ are supporting and networking diverse business owners and the companies seeking to work with diverse businesses. Dr. Steele was pleased to engage with the insightful audience questions, and to exchange with keynote speaker Mori Kida, Google DEI APAC leader Roman Matla, as well as with her fellow panellists Miyuki Hirose from WeConnect International, Loren Fykes of Pride Business Alliance Japan (and APAC DEI program manager at Google) and of course the moderator, Hayden Majajas the Global Head of DE&I for Takeda Pharmaceutical.
