Roundtable by The Japan Times #2 (Melanie Brock)

Roundtable: Sustainability with Ross Rowbury #2

The English-language events will invite readers of The Japan Times to be guest speakers. Ross Rowbury (former representative of Edelman Japan), who has a deep knowledge of Japan and boasts a wide network both here and abroad, will sit down in the role of host with Japanese and non-Japanese to discuss their lives in Japan. Held once a month, the format of the roundtable will include time for panel discussions with the participation of the audience.

For our special guest speaker, Rowbury will invite Melanie Brock from Melanie Brock Advisory, which works across a wide range of industry sectors and issues to support cross-cultural businesses and public relations.

Melanie Brock
Melanie Brock is one of Japan’s best-known APAC specialists. She uniquely combines language skills, high-level political, media and business networks, and practical commercial business leadership. She consistently delivers on business, regulatory and partnership outcomes for Japanese and Australian corporations in both a global and domestic context. Highlights of Melanie’s 20-plus years of experience include leading nationwide marketing campaigns and a successful bilateral free trade agreement and as architect of regional Japanese activities for corporate social responsibility. Melanie has a media profile, regularly featuring in Nikkei, the Australian Financial Review and the ABC, giving her an unparalleled media network.

Ross Rowbury
Ross Rowbury has observed Japan while living and working here for four decades. Commencing his career in finance in Tokyo in the early 1980s, he later moved into public relations and communications, holding senior positions at Gavin Anderson & Co. (now Kreab) and PRAP Japan. Most recently, he headed the Edelman business in Japan for 10 years until July 2020. Ross is studying to become a kataribe (traditional storyteller) of Japanese legends while doing freelance consulting for a number of firms on their Japan business strategy. He is also visiting professor of Asian marketing at Doshisha University in Kyoto.