Yuko Watanabe is a business development professional with more than two decades of experience in both the US and Japan. A native of Japan, she was educated and worked in both countries, and has been based in New York since 1996. Since 2019, Yuko has been an independent consultant specializing in Japan market strategy, business development, and media relations.
At Womble Bond Dickinson, Yuko supports the Japan Practice team as a business development consultant, develops internal and external marketing/outreach strategies, and serves as a liaison between Japanese corporates and resources within the firm.
Currently, she is a Senior Advisor (Japan) at Greenmantle, a macroeconomic and geopolitical advisory firm co-founded by Niall Ferguson, a leading financial historian and author. Yuko also serves on the board of directors at Cybozu, a Tokyo-based software company that provides web-based groupware services, since 2022. From 2020 to 2021, she worked at PwC in New York City as a Japanese Client Liaison/Client Relationship Executive.
From 2006 to 2017, Yuko led the Japan Business Development Team at Eurasia Group, the world’s largest political risk research and consulting firm founded by Ian Bremmer, a renowned political scientist. She developed and managed relationships with more than 50 major Japanese companies in a wide range of sectors, governmental organizations, business associations, and media. In 11 years under Yuko’s leadership, her team successfully built Eurasia Group’s brand, reputation and strong client base in Japan.
Prior to Eurasia Group, from 1996 until 2004, Yuko was Senior Program Officer at the Japan Society in New York, the leading American organization committed to deepening mutual understanding between the United States and Japan. She conceived and ran public educational programs and events; worked on various intellectual/leadership exchange programs; and managed relationships with corporate executives, public officials, journalists, and prominent cultural figures in both Japan and the US.
As a freelance writer on a wide range of topics relevant to the US and Japan, including politics, international relations, society, culture and sports, Yuko contributes to a number of publications such as Nikkei newspaper, Nikkei x Woman, and Business Insider Japan; and frequently gives lectures and seminars at colleges and public events.
