Erika Iwai
An Imperial College London alum with a Master’s in Engineering; Erika began her career at Sumitomo Electric Industries, where she invented patents for new coating technologies for the manufacturing industry. Seeking to broaden her expertise, she moved to the United States to earn an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. At UCLA, her focus shifted towards learning how to build organizations capable of innovation.
After obtaining her MBA, Erika had unique opportunities to impact the creation and management of teams while working at top American companies. These companies include: the toy industry leader Mattel, Inc., and the gaming giant Riot Games, Inc.
Upon returning to Japan, Erika took a leadership role in talent management at Geometry Ogilvy Japan — part of the WPP Group. She later started consulting independently as a freelancer but wanted to scale up the positive impact she was making for her clients. This led her to co-found Sollective K.K. in 2020, taking advantage of her blend of global business perspectives, modern HR expertise, and her innate desire to improve work in Japan.