BDTI Director Training for Women Initiative 2023

First Round Ended

The Board Director Training Institute of Japan (“BDTI”) will again announce this year an initiative to sponsor board director training courses for women. The goal of the initiative is to equip highly qualified female leaders with the skills and training needed to succeed as board directors, and to proactively address the imbalance in board gender diversity in Japan by growing the pool of board-ready, qualified female director candidates.

Starting April 3rd, for qualified women who enroll to take any of BDTI’s director training courses as described below, one of the generous sponsor companies will cover all costs.  These Japanese and English-language training programs have been designed by leading experts in Japan to prepare candidates to serve as directors, statutory auditors, and executive officers in Japan. We look forward to many qualified woman taking advantage of this opportunity to receive director education.

Information &  Procedures for Application

【Applications】

Accepted from April 3, 2023 until funds depleted. Sponsors will determine whether to award scholarships to applicants. Scholarship applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, so please send your outline resume as soon as possible.

【Programs Covered by the Initiative】

The Initiative covers the following courses.  BDTI may schedule additional courses depending on demand from the general public, and applications based on this initiative, and the availability of lecturers.

1. Governance ‘Juku’ （「ガバナンス塾」, Japanese)
   Currently scheduled course dates: May 23 (Tue.), July 13 (Thu.), August 31 (Thu.)
2. Advanced Outside Director Training （「社外取塾」, Japanese)
   Currently scheduled course dates: June 5 (Mon.), August 2 (Wed.)
3. Role Play Course（ロールプレイ役員研修）, Japanese）
   Currently scheduled course dates: April 24 (Mon.), July 24 (Mon.)
4. English language “Director Boot Camp”
   Currently scheduled course date: April 19 (Wed.), June 23 (Fri.)
5. E-learning Suite (Japanese)
   (The # of “spaces available”, and the date is not an issue)

【Application procedures】

1. If you are interested in applying for a scholarship, please: (a) provide your up-to-date summary CV information (in either English or Japanese); and (b) tell us which course, on which date, you would like to attend, by sending an email to: info@bdti.or.jp . We will forward that information to the Sponsor for their consideration. (At this point, please do not register on BDTI’s website to take the selected course/e-learning. Such registration should only occur after a Sponsor has accepted your application.)
2. Our Sponsors will endeavor to respond within a week or two, by asking BDTI to send you an email.  If a Sponsor approves your application, please proceed to the relevant registration page below and select the course in which you have expressed interest. Registration pages:
   (a) Courses other than Boot Camp:     https://bdti.or.jp/event-registration/ ​
   (b) English “Director Boot Camp”:  https://bdti.or.jp/en/event-registration/

【Notes】

1. Note that the 「社外取塾」 has a prerequisite that you have first taken the 「ガバナンス塾」 , or already have an equivalent level of knowledge. Only one course per person is allowed for this scholarship.  (BDTI’s e-learning suite of four “modules” will be considered a single “course” for this purpose. )
2. If the course/date you wish to take reaches its maximum capacity, we may ask you to take the course on an alternative date.
3. We will not use your resume for any purpose other than to screen your application for sponsorship. After the screening process is complete, we will no longer retain your resume.
4. In general, no changes or cancellations are allowed.
5. If you cancel less than three weeks before the training date, a 30,000 yen cancellation fee will be charged to you and not the Sponsor.
6. If you must cancel less than three weeks before the training date, you may reschedule yourself to the next course (but only once). In that case, you will be charged an administration fee of 30,000 yen. If you cannot attend the rescheduled course, you will forfeit your registration.A cancellation fee will still be charged if you or the substitute are not available to attend the training.
7. In case of cancellation three days or less before the event or “no shows”, you will be responsible for the full price of the training course.

【Sponsors (as of April 3, 2023)】

Oasis Management Company Ltd.
Oasis Management Company Ltd. manages private investment funds focused on opportunities in a wide array of asset classes across countries and sectors. Oasis was founded in 2002 by Seth H. Fischer, who leads the firm as its Chief Investment Officer. More information about Oasis is available at https://oasiscm.com . Oasis has adopted the Japan FSA’s “Principles of Responsible Institutional Investors” (a/k/a Japan Stewardship Code) and in line with those principles, Oasis monitors and engages with our investee companies. Oasis is a member of the 30% Club Japan and Hong Kong Chapter Investor Groups and a founding member of the Hong Kong Board Diversity Investor Initiative.

GMO
Founded in 1977, GMO is a global investment manager committed to delivering superior performance and advice to our clients. Offering solutions across multi-asset class, equity, fixed income, and alternative strategies, we are grounded in a common philosophical belief that a long-term, valuation-based approach will maximize risk-adjusted returns. We also believe that material ESG factors will be determinants of success of the companies and countries in which we invest, and that integrating ESG into investment processes can improve our long-term results. GMO’s Japan Value strategies are managed by the Usonian Japan Equity team, led by Drew Edwards. Utilizing a disciplined, bottom-up, value-based approach to capitalize on unique inefficiencies in the Japanese equity market, the team maintains a long-term perspective and engages with company management to help enhance corporate governance and create long-term shareholder value. The team has been actively engaging with Japanese companies since before the Corporate Governance Code was launched in 2014 and joined GMO in 2020, with team members located in GMO’s Berkeley office and a representative office in Tokyo. For more information about GMO, please visit https://www.gmo.com/. (*GMO is a completely separate company from GMO Internet Group in Japan.)

 

【About The Board Director Training Institute of Japan】

The Board Director Training Institute (BDTI) is a “public interest” nonprofit in Japan dedicated to training about directorship, corporate governance, and related management techniques. It is certified by the Japanese government to conduct these activities as a regulated nonprofit, and also to provide data and database services related to corporate disclosure. Nicholas Benes, the CEO of BDTI, is the person who proposed the concept of a governance code to the Japanese government in 2013, including its principle that specifically mentions gender diversity.   Download  a summary of BDTI’s training programs here, and see a menu of its data services here.