Students in the 2026 EMBA class (pictured in front of Tokyo Station) were the first to participate in the inaugural Japan Global Immersion Program. Photo: Mike Rielly
UC Berkeley Haas executive MBA students headed to Tokyo this month for the inaugural Japan Global Immersion program, visiting influential companies, meeting alumni leaders, and connecting with Dean Jenny Chatman.
The international immersion is one of five required during the 22-month executive MBA program. Japan is the program’s newest international location, chosen for its extensive number of Haas alumni and the Berkeley Executive Education (BEE) network.
During the trip, held May 11-15, 58 students visited some of Japan’s best-known companies, including Mitsubishi Estate, Onitsuka Tiger, Japan Airlines, SONY, Nomura Holdings, JETRO, and Sega Sammy.
The EMBA cohort visited Sega Sammy during the immersion week. Haruki Satomi, MBA 12, is president and CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings.
“Japan is experiencing an extraordinary resurgence,” said Elizabeth Stanners, executive director of the executive MBA program. “From globally established corporations to a rapidly evolving startup ecosystem, the country offers unparalleled opportunities for our students to deepen their understanding of the global economy.”
Tokyo, as the newest international immersion, is one of five required during the program. Others include Leadership Communication in Santa Cruz; Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Silicon Valley; Applied Innovation in wine country; and Business and Public Policy in Washington, D.C.
Steven Jim, EMBA 26, EMBA cohort co-president, (left), with Saikat Chaudhuri, Tokyo immersion instructor and faculty director of the undergraduate Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (M.E.T.) program at Haas.
Steven Jim, EMBA 26, a cohort co-president and a process engineer at the Intel Foundry, said the immersions are a critical differentiator for Haas.
“The weeklong intensive sessions provide opportunities to go deep on a particular subject,” he said. “They are also very special opportunities for our cohort to become tighter. Whether we were in California or Japan, the immersions serve the purpose of building that supportive culture and that sense of camaraderie that make the Haas EMBA program so unique and the only program I applied to.”
A group effort
The Tokyo immersion leveraged the deep professional networks of Dean Chatman and Berkeley Executive Ed CEO Mike Rielly, drawing on their extensive connections with Haas alumni and global clients. To bring the program to life, a cross-functional team—including Stanners and Kirsten Berzon, the EMBA program’s associate director of Events and Experiential Learning—integrated expertise from the Dean’s Office, Admissions, Development and Alumni Relations, and Berkeley Executive Education.
Saikat Chaudhuri, faculty director of the undergraduate Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (M.E.T.), served as course instructor. As teaching assistant, Sahar Kleinman, EMBA 18, and Haas Alumni Council Chair, played a key role in the content and delivery of the new course.
Chaudhuri said the immersion was designed to offer a behind-the-scenes look at innovation and entrepreneurship in Japan, cultivating students’ leadership skills in an increasingly interconnected world. The trip also provided opportunities for the group to soak in the long-standing culture of the country through visits to the Meiji Jingu Shrine and the Imperial Palace Gardens. “Those visits put the country’s leadership philosophies and corporate values in context,” Chaudhuri said.
Mike Rielly, CEO of Berkeley Executive Education, Steve Jim, EMBA 26, Kirsten Berzon, associate director of Events and Experiential Learning for the EMBA program, and Kakeru Tojo, immersion week advisor and guide, try on the uniforms at Japan Airlines.
Berkeley Haas has one of the largest contingencies of global alumni outside of the U.S. in Japan, including two Haas Board members, Haruki Satomi, MBA 12, president and CEO of Sega Sammy Holdings; and Seiichiro Yamamoto, MBA 92, board chair of Nomura Asset Management.
Those connections were among the reasons for Chatman’s Human Edge of Innovation Global Tour, which took her to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and Tokyo, where she ended the tour so she could meet with the EMBA students and Haas alumni. (She also sat down for an interview with the Japan Times to discuss why universities are critical to startup success.)
“Tokyo was the emotional highlight of the trip,” Chatman said. “I intentionally planned my Asia visit around the Japan immersion week. Being there alongside our EMBAs during their final in-person week before commencement felt special. I bonded with this class as I watched them soak in this experience together. It was a moment I won’t soon forget.”
Haas Dean Jenny Chatman (middle) closed out her Human Edge of Innovation Global Tour in Tokyo so she could meet with EMBA students and Haas alumni.
Inspiring visits
One immersion highlight was a visit to Japan Airlines, where the students were welcomed by Hiroko Kojima, CEO of JAL Mileage Bank, before touring the aircraft hangar where wide-body jumbo jets are serviced. The cohort also heard from a finance executive there who spoke candidly about the airline’s recovery after facing bankruptcy, inviting questions and ideas for the company’s future from the cohort. “He asked how the company could continue innovating and remain competitive,” topics that the students addressed in their Haas courses, Jim said.
A tour of the Japan Airlines hangar, where students were welcomed by Hiroko Kojima, CEO of JAL Mileage Bank.
Sony’s Chief Digital Officer John Kodera met with students who were struck by how the company’s global management team executes across industries including movies, music, and gaming.
For William Mee, EMBA 26, hearing from Masahiro Ito, CEO of PowerX, which Japan Airlines has invested in, and Ryoji Shoda, the head of the shoe brand Onitsuka Tiger, was inspiring.
“Ito spoke about providing energy for data centers, an area I am very interested in, and Shoda was quietly passionate in speaking about building a brand versus making a quick profit,” he said. “I know little about fashion brands, but his attention to detail and conviction really stood out.”
Christina Tasci, EMBA 26, brought her husband, mother, and two young children along for the trip.
“It felt incredibly meaningful to have my family see this part of my life firsthand,” she said. “My kids got to watch me investing in myself, and my family got to meet the lifelong friends I’ve made through Haas.”
Alumni connections
Company hosts were inspired by the EMBA cohort visits. “It was a joy to welcome friends from Berkeley Haas and Berkeley Exec Ed, and the future leaders from Haas,” said Kojima of Japan Airlines. “Our speakers and volunteers were incredibly impressed by the energy, intellectual curiosity, and high-level discussions brought by the Haas students.”
In addition to meetings with Satomi and Yamamoto, the students attended receptions and dinners with Atsushi Nakajima, MBA 93, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Estate; Yasuyuki Konuma, MBA 92, president of the Haas Japan Chapter; Atsushi Toda, MBA 94, Kazutaka Kanairo, MBA 10, co-deputy presidents of the Haas Japan Chapter; and Mitsuru Igarashi, BS 89 (Engineering), a UC Berkeley Foundation trustee.
Venkata Gadde, EMBA 26, with Seiichiro Yamamoto, MBA 92, board chair of Nomura Asset Management.
“It was neat to see both the size and strength of the Haas network and also see how our international alumni embrace the Haas Defining Leadership Principles in their own way,” said Emily Nakashima, EMBA 26.
Yamamoto, one of several Haas alumni attending the closing dinner, said he found the EMBA students’ emotional speeches shared during the dinner about their experiences in the program deeply moving. “It touched the hearts of our Haas Japan leadership,” he said.
EMBA students who got up early to check out the Toyosu fish market.