Akiko’s work through the Mega Center encompasses a multifaceted approach, offering organizations better people practices that foster innovation and high performance, and the people who work there sustainable and authentic ways of succeeding at work.

Akiko’s life and career is a tapestry of insights gleaned from experience, exploration of culture, identities and how they emerge, as well as her first loves: design and performance. Design is often considered an act of radical empathy; it informs the way she helps her clients solve problems. Her studies in performance and dance guide her in unearthing clients’ narratives, beliefs, and behaviors from cultural choreography. Prior to founding The Mega Center, Akiko served as a trusted advisor at a global leadership advisory firm specializing in the consumer and luxury goods sectors. She built her sector expertise at the Maison Margiela as head of the Japan business and the house of Issey Miyake as an art director, bridging and translating creativity into business, ideas to the market, and difference in business practice: East and West.

Her unwavering commitment to understand the impact of culture and how it shapes identity and its expression has left an indelible mark on organizations, creating environments where individuals thrive, ideas flourish, and belonging becomes the cornerstone of success. As we look to the future, Akiko is poised to scale this impact. In 2024, the Mega Center will partner with select clients to launch internal coach training programs to promote cultures of curiosity, belonging, and innovation. At the very heart of the work is to help leaders experience the personal development and transformation needed to uncover who they really are, offer them a space to experience deeper levels of psychological safety, and discover what it makes possible.

Evolution=Revolution
I’m secretly obsessed with how we navigate and show up in our intimate relationships. It seems weird to focus on, but you’d be surprised how much light it sheds on how we show up everywhere else. Success for me came from failures. An abusive marriage and workplace harassment gave me a divorce and a burnout sabbatical. The divorce gifted me the chance to hit bottom, dust off, and get up to see a new perspective. Time away from work allowed me to get clear on how I want to contribute to the world. These experiences and a newfound freedom that comes with turning fifty empowers me to refine what truly matters to me. And embrace who I am, not who I think I need to be. At work, I often share that psychological safety is the biggest indicator of high-performing teams. Research actually shows it’s not so much the “what we do” or who is on our team that makes us successful. It’s how we show up to each other and our common why— and the safety to be frank. I’d say that applies to intimate relationships, too. If we listen to understand over feeling understood, we’re left with fewer conflicts and more connection. More creation.

While in my 30s and 40s I was professionally immersed in all things luxury, what I now find to be the ultimate personal luxury is time for myself and the power to choose what is central to me. I sense joy in uncovering unexpected gems in nature or in the city- and love sharing my finds with people who appreciate the small wonders of the world we live in. Excitement for the future lies in helping others find pathways to define, create, and experience the life they envision for themselves without a relentless push for bigger, harder, faster, stronger– all of the time. It’s a privilege to see people connect with what really matters to them and deepen into who they really are. It’s a powerful reminder for me to stay connected to what matters to me, and who I really am.