Schooling done in Yokohama Japan at St. Joseph International School (one of the pioneers International schools in Japan) After graduating high school I was admitted to Sophia University in Tokyo.  Transferred to University of Southern California for 1.5 years and returned back to Sophia University to graduate in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in business management. At a time when Japan’s economy was booming, I had the opportunity to join almost any listed company as was the case with most of my colleagues. However, from the start I had been entrepreneurial minded and opted to start up a trading company on my own. The yen had appreciated from 360 yen to 180 yen a dollar at the time and Japan was moving into an era where imports would see exponential growth. Looking into the opportunity I tapped my contacts in Sri Lanka and India who were running garment factories. This has been the start of my career. Eventually our company evolved into a full-fledged apparel brand having retail stores in all major cities of Japan as well as wholesale and online stores. Over the years we have downsized looking into the markets after the rise of fast fashion retailers which eroded price barriers and profitability. We are now primarily involved in the manufacturing of ladies’ contemporary wear for major brands in Japan. Within the past 30 years we have also been a member of the Indian Chamber of Commerce Japan where my father had acted as president for a number of terms. Through the works of the ICCJ I was able to realize that my inherent strengths of being international gave me an edge in promoting cross border / cross cultural projects and businesses.  Since 3 years ago, I have also been acting as a advisor / director for Japan India Industry Promotion Association consulting Indian and Japanese firms to enter