BBA 2024: Meet the Judges!

Tammy Beaumont MBE | England Women’s Cricketer and World Cup Winner

In an international career spanning over 14 years so far, Tammy Beaumont received one of the first professional contracts in England. Since then she has been at the forefront of the tremendous growth in the women’s game. Currently holding the record for the highest Test score for an England woman, and the most ODI centuries, the former ICC number 1 ranked batter is often found the other side of the rope in the commentary box for sky sports.  

A passion for leadership, performance and team dynamics lead Tammy to co-found The Inside Edge People, a consultancy company who provide insights and coaching from high performance environments to everyday business. Off the pitch Tammy plays an active role in championing women and equality, having been part of the EY Global Women Athlete Business Network (WABN) in 2021 and is furthering her skills by currently undertaking in a masters in Leadership in Sport. 

David Bickle OBE | Former President at the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan

David’s personal and professional experience has been shaped by the extraordinary opportunities afforded by the Japan/UK corridor of commercial, cultural and community collaboration. Joining Kobe Steel Ltd out of university in the early 1990s, David spent 6 years working and playing rugby in Japan before returning to London to train as a chartered accountant. He transferred back to Tokyo 20 years ago in a role that has enabled him to assist companies acquiring, establishing, and developing businesses in Japan and is an enthusiastic advocate for increasing the depth and breadth of the bilateral relationship. He served as president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan for 8 years until 2022 and is enthused by the possibilities of partnering complementary Japan/UK strengths in innovation and technology with capabilities and resources to achieve world-class outcomes – beneficial to both countries and the increasingly connected world within which their firms operate. David is a graduate of Cambridge University and the proud holder of 6 caps for the Japan national rugby team. He is a partner with one of the worlds largest professional services firms.

Junko Kemi | Founder of kay me 

Junko Kemi is the founder and lead designer of kay me. She started kay me in July 2011 in Ginza, Tokyo. In 2008, Kemi also established a marketing consulting company, after providing consulting services as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group from 2004 to 2007. She mainly provided consulting service to the financial, IT, and energy industries. Kemi first built her career in marketing and sales for a nationwide publishing company,Benesse. Kemi has received numerous awards for her entrepreneurship, including the ‘5th DBJ Women Entrepreneurs Grand Prize‘ by the Development Bank of Japan in 2016, the ‘2015 Entrepreneur of the Year’ by the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan as well as receiving a merit award in the Global Strategy category at the ‘2014 MIT Venture Forum of Japan’.Kemi holds a BSc in History from The University of Waseda, Japan. 

Martin Kent | HM Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific

Martin Kent was appointed His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Asia Pacific in September 2023. He joined from an interim posting as the Minister and Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy Tokyo. Martin previously served as a Director within the Department for Business and Trade, prior to which he was HM Deputy Trade Commissioner to Africa, based in the British Embassy Cairo. Martin joined the Civil Service in 2015 as the Deputy Director for Global Operations at UK Trade and Investment (UKTI). He started his career at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in London and worked mainly overseas with multinational companies, including extended periods in Australia and Singapore. Martin graduated from St John’s College, Cambridge University, and is from Colchester in Essex.

The HM Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for Asia Pacific oversees all Departments for Business and Trade (DBT) work in North-East Asia, South-East Asia and Australasia including:

• growing the overall bilateral trade and investment relationship
• improving market access for British companies, including small-andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• developing finance and trade policy
• TheHMTC also works closely with the wider diplomatic network and UK-based colleagues to coordinate His Majesty’s Government (HMG) activity on our wider prosperity agenda.

Yuuichiro Nakajima | Founder of Crimson Phoenix

Yuuichiro Nakajima joined the BCCJ Executive Committee in 2008 and served as a member until 2012 when he relocated to the UK to set up Crimson Phoenix’s London office, where he currently works. The BBA was inaugurated during his BCCJ ExCom tenure. Having been educated and worked in both the UK and Japan, Yuuichiro has now spent almost half of his life in Britain and visits Japan regularly. His firm advises companies on cross-border Japan-related M&A transactions, which gives Yuuichiro a broad exposure to Japanese companies interested in UK/European businesses and vice versa. In addition to this, Yuuichiro chairs the board of Japan House London’s operating company. He is also a director of a London-listed investment trust and a UN-affiliated British charity concerned with the advancement of environmental education. Until recently he served on, inter alia, the board of the Japan Society and a FIFA committee.

Teruko Wada | Director, International Affairs Bureau, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation)

Teruko is responsible for trade and investment policy at Keidanren. She is also in charge of the economic relationship with the US, Europe, NIS countries including Ukraine, and other developed countries, as well as economic security policy issues. She has engaged in public policy advocacy throughout her professional career, including business legislations (competition policy, corporate governance, consumer protection, taxation etc.) since joining Keidanren secretariat in 1995. Teruko graduated from Waseda University (BA in Law), University of Tokyo (LL.M), and Georgetown University (LL.M. with distinction/Fulbright scholarship). She is also an active volunteer for Girl Guiding. She was a World Board Member for World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS, a UK charity headquartered in London) from 2011 to 2017.