DEBBIE HOWARD

Debbie Howard is president of Japan Market Resource Network (JMRN), a Tokyo-based market research firm that advises multi-national companies on their marketing strategies in Japan.

JMRN specializes in both trade and consumer research, with a focus on consumer products (i.e., retail banking/investment products

and credit cards, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, IT/e-commerce, luxury branded goods, food and beverages, auto-motive, travel, etc.).

Howard has lived and worked in Japan for 23 years, and prior to founding JMRN 20 years ago, worked for the marketing re¬search division of McCann-Erickson Hakuho-do, where she handled major consumer research accounts including Citibank, Dunhill, General Motors, Northwest Airlines and Swatch. She has a 32-year career overall in marketing and communications, hav¬ing worked in public relations and ad¬vertising management, and in corporate communications and marketing support services for the Mead Corporation.

She received her B.A. in advertising and marketing from the Journalism School of the University of South Carolina, and attended Graduate Business School at Georgia State University.

Howard has addressed international marketing and marketing research audiences in the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. She is a past President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), having led the organization in 2004 and 2005, as the Chamber marked its 56th and 57th years as the leading international business organization in Japan. Howard, the ACCJ’s 48th president, was selected to serve as Chairman in 2006 and 2007, and continues to serve as President Emeritus.