Japan
A bilingual strategic sales leader with over 17 years of experience launching and scaling global SaaS and cloud businesses across Japan and North Asia. From being the first Japanese hire at Meltwater to leading Oracle’s SaaS business across Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Yuri has helped U.S. and European startups successfully enter and grow in the Japanese market. Known for blending deep local insight with global best practices, Yuri brings a unique understanding of Japanese business culture, U.S./European tech ecosystems, and what it truly takes to build high-performing, cross-cultural teams from the ground up. Whether launching HubSpot Japan or driving double-digit growth at Oracle University’s cloud division, her focus has always been on building strong teams, winning trust, developing people and delivering real, lasting results. Yuri is also a strong advocate for diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) and women’s leadership, using her platform to inspire and empower the next generation of woman leaders. Yuri has also served as a spokesperson and thought leader in the industry, with media features and speaking engagements highlighting her work in women's leadership and empowerment. Specialties: - SaaS / Solution Sales / Customer Success - GTM Strategy and Localization - People Development and Leadership Coaching - Strategic & Content Partnerships - Public Speaking, PR & Brand Communications MBTI: ENTJ StrengthsFinder Top 5: 1. Achiever 2. Positivity 3. Competition 4. Activator 5. Communication
- Managed the SaaS business of Oracle University in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. Supervised sales, customer success, delivery and project managers. - Developed and executed a growth strategy for Sales and Pre-Sales teams with a focus on customer success and renewals to drive growth and profitability within SaaS business in the North Asia region. Collaborated internally across multiple departments to strategically engage new and existing customers and shared best practices with sales leaders in Japan and China. - Supported multinational teams through the change management process by providing training and effectively communicating the expectations of the integration process and new objectives. - Reported directly to the VP of JAPAC.
Cultivated the next generation of female talent as the Oracle Women's Leadership Employee Resource Group Japan Community leader. Organized and participated in more than 50 different events with internal and external speakers including former Mayor of Yokohama, Fumiko Hayashi. Events focused on diversity and inclusion, gender gap and equity, women’s leadership and development, mentoring, and networking. Ran weekly meetings with 10-20 core members and worked with 500+ members and volunteers. Grew an online community from zero to 300+ members since pandemic. Reported to head of the Employee Engagement in JAPAC HR based in Australia.
- Led a new cloud division of Oracle University. Developed and executed the go-to market strategy for Oracle Guided Learning (SaaS) and Cloud Education business in Japan. - Responsible for supervising both sales and non-sales staff and closely coordinating with senior leadership in Japan across Cloud and Service Sales to ensure Cloud Education solutions were integrated into overall customer solutions. Achieved average of positive 38% revenue growth in FY19 to FY23. - Drove incremental revenue through the sales of Oracle Guided Learning (SaaS) and Digital Learning Solutions for PaaS/IaaS/SaaS. - Developed deep content and subject matter expertise to enable successful, tailored sales solutions based on customer need. - Managed and advised on Oracle Guided Learning (SaaS) implementation project deliveries with India, Korea and Australia. Established, adapted, and localized the delivery model for Japan. - Managed the team to execute quarterly plans to deliver quotas and projects. - Reported directly to the VP of JAPAC.
TOMODACHI is a public-private partnership created by U.S. Embassy Tokyo and the U.S.-Japan Council. This mentorship program pairs highly-motivated Japanese female university students with Japanese female mid-career professionals to encourage networking among a select corps of Japanese women who show promise as Japan’s next generation of leaders. http://usjapantomodachi.org/ - Selected to be a mentor in 2014 - Mentoring a female student mentee on a regular basis - Participated in regular group sessions and leadership training hosted by the U.S. Embassy and consulates - Attended networking events with government and business leaders of Japan and the U.S. (Participants include: First lady Akie Abe & Michelle Obama, Ambassador Kennedy)
HubSpot is a leading CRM platform trusted by over 194,000+ customers in more than 120 countries. It offers powerful yet easy-to-use tools across marketing, sales, customer service, CMS, and operations. - Launched, marketed, and grow the HubSpot Tokyo office and inbound marketing program. - Supervised and collaborated closely with counterparts in marketing, services, support, legal, and people operations. - Led recruitment and drove monthly sales targets and provided sales and personal development. - Launched HubSpot Japan by hosting and presenting the largest marketing event for HubSpot in Asia for an audience of 300 including key speakers.
The Norwegian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (NCCJ) is a nonprofit organization established in 2003 to strengthen business and cultural ties between Norway and Japan. Nominated and selected to be one of board members.