Working in a multinational organization requires a broad skill set, beyond communication and cross-cultural issues. You also have to compete with your colleagues for promotions and craft your own career path. The panelists will discuss how they navigate these challenges and offer their insights.

Minori Takao, an NHK World News Anchor, facilitated today’s panel that focused on career development in a multinational organization. The panelists, all successful businesswomen, were Lori Henderson MBE, Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan; Yoriko Goto, Chair of the Board of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group; Akemi Watanabe, Amazon Japan’s VP of Life & Leisure; and Makiko Eda, Chief Representative Officer of WEF Japan.

Ms. Takao opened the discussion by asking the speakers to speak about their main challenges on the way up the corporate ladder in global companies. Ms. Watanabe, who has worked in global companies for her entire career, shared her struggle to be heard, especially when she moved to New York, and explained how she overcame this challenge in such a competitive and foreign environment. Ms. Goto, who similarly spent many years in the US, described the challenge she faced when she came back to Japan and enlightened the audience on how to best bring together the positives of different working cultures. Ms. Henderson told her story about being a foreigner working in Japan and how she had to modify her behavior to adapt to a new culture and values system. Ms. Eda imparted the challenges of being the first female president of Intel Japan and how she was able to carve out a place for herself within the notoriously male-dominated tech industry.

Just like Ms. Eda, many of these women were the first females in their job positions. They gave excellent tips on how to beat adversity and climb the ladder from both a corporate and a personal perspective. As Ms. Watanabe said, “if you got an opportunity, take a risk and take it.” Similarly, Ms. Goto shared advice that helped her become the Chair of the Board. Ms. Takao asked each of the accomplished panelists to offer some insight on the value of having and being a role model. The speakers had quite a broad range of experiences with mentors and sponsors, and they all testified to the importance of having a mentor on the way up, and of being a mentor at the top. Ms. Eda advised, “Make sure to use your power wisely, to empower everyone to do things to the fullest of their abilities.” Ms. Takao asked the speakers to give their main motivation or drive to be successful, to which a single response rung clear: the desire for impact. In their own ways, each of these women wanted to impact the world through their actions or their creations.

The Q&A session that followed the discussion was quite valuable. One person asked for some advice about how to find mentors and sponsors. The speakers shared their experiences with mentorship, some tips on how to find them, and some great advice about the practice of mentoring within a company environment. Another hot topic that came up was about how to best overcome cultural and language barriers within a global company. Based on her many years of experience in Japan, Ms. Henderson offered some advice on how to bridge cultural differences to create a more positive and efficient working environment.