Meiko Takayama

Founder & CEO
AWE | Advancing Women Executives

Meiko Takayama had a successful career in the art field in Europe and New York before changing her focus to business consulting. She was a managing director with CEB (now Gartner) through the company’s successful IPO and growth to $450 million in revenue. After managing the West Coast business, Takayama became an executive recruiter and continued to experience a lack of diversity on leadership teams. In an effort to create a paradigm shift in the way companies look at accelerating the careers of underrepresented professionals, she created AWE in 2012. For AWE, diversity means business, process and awareness. Takayama and her team partner with Fortune 1000 companies to create sustainable workplace cultures and embed inclusion throughout organizations. AWE is the leading provider of women’s leadership development programs for midcareer and executive women, partnering with over 1,500 professionals and training over 25,000 employees annually.