ABOUT THE GUESTS
Admiral
Dennis
Blair
Former U. S. Director of National Intelligence & Chairman of the Board, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA
Admiral Dennis Blair is Chairman of the Board and Distinguished Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. Blair has long experience in Japan and Asia issues and serves as a member of the Energy Security Leadership Council, and is on the boards of the National Bureau of Asian Research and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Atlantic Council. Prior to retiring from his 34-year long career in the Navy, Blair served as Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command. Blair also served as Director of National Intelligence, leading 16 national intelligence agencies and managing a budget of $50 billion, and was president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). He is a published author and recipient of various distinguished medals.
Dr. Sheila
Smith
Senior Fellow for Japan, Council on Foreign Relations
Dr. Sheila Smith, a published author and expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, is a senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and serves as vice chair of the U.S. advisors to the U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange. Smith has been a visiting researcher at 2 leading Japanese policy institutes and is on the advisory committee for the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future program. Smith holds MA and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University and teaches as an adjunct professor at the Asian Studies Department of Georgetown University.
Kathy
Matsui
Co-head of Economics, Commodities and Strategy, & Chief Japan Equity Strategist, Goldman Sachs Japan
Kathy Matsui is vice chair of Goldman Sachs Japan, co-head of Macro Research in Asia, and chief Japan equity strategist. Matsui is a policy commentator for Japan’s Cabinet Office and member of the Asia Pacific Management Committee and Council on Foreign Relations. She also helps oversee Launch With Goldman Sachs (GS), the firm’s first for-profit investing initiative with a gender lens, and has served on numerous Japanese government committees aimed at promoting gender diversity. She was recognized in Bloomberg Markets magazine’s “50 Most Influential” list in 2014. She earned an AB, magna cum laude, in Social Studies from Harvard University and an MA from Johns Hopkins University.