Teaching Interests

Strategic Communications, Japanese Business Culture, Sales and Marketing, Entrepreneurship

Research

Applied Linguistics, Strategic Communications, Climate Change

Education

• BA, University of Colorado at Boulder, Psychology
• MA, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Japanese Literature
• MBA, Thunderbird School of Global Management, International Marketing

Previous Appointments

James Hawrylak has been in Japan for decades first as a lecturer at Ritsumeikan University and then in business. He has worked as a market entry and business development professional with over 20 years of experience working in Japan and APAC. During this time, he was part of the team that founded DLJdirect (now Rakuten Securities); founded and led the Asian operations of Investor Relations firm, Taylor Rafferty, where he was the lead IR consultant on over USD 40 billion in IPO/M&A transactions; founded Glass Lewis Japan, executing the first policy in Japan demanding board independence; and founded Sustainalytics Japan, where his work on developing the sustainable finance industry in Japan led to the 2017 Sustainable Finance Award issued by the Japan Research Institute for Environmental Finance. He has also taught at International University of Japan’s MBA program as an adjunct professor in Japanese corporate governance.

Professional Business Associations

Asiatic Society of Japan

The U.S.-Japan Council

Tokyo American Club