Sakura Kawakami
Founder & CEO, Eveil Global Advisory
Sakura Kawakami is the founder of Eveil Global Advisory. Over more than 25 years, her career has spanned financial services, technology, business transformation and market building across Japan and international organisations.
She has worked from both sides of strategy: inside large established companies making transformation decisions, and inside venture-backed businesses responsible for building markets, partnerships and commercial operations in Japan. Her executive roles include CEO, Country Manager and Head of Business Development, working directly with founders, boards and global leadership teams.
- CEO, Country Manager and Head of Business Development experience
- 25+ years across insurance, InsurTech, SaaS and technology
- Japan and international market leadership
- Corporate and venture-backed environments
A trusted advisor rather than an external consultant.
Sakura works as an advisor to executive teams rather than as a traditional consultant. The distinction matters in practice: the work involves sitting inside a decision with a management team, not delivering a document to them.
That combination of corporate and entrepreneurial experience is the basis of Eveil's approach: understand the evidence, apply judgment, test what is uncertain, and stay close enough to execution to know whether a strategy can actually work. It is also why she is direct about the limits of what any analysis can establish.
Where the experience concentrates.
Contributing to the wider conversation.
Sakura contributes to leadership development through executive mentoring and cross-border industry initiatives, and writes on AI, innovation and responsible transformation. She has a particular interest in developing the next generation of leaders in Japan.
She is co-author of Responsible AI in Japan: The Next Move for Insurance, published with Propel Global Advisory in October 2025.
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