Board of Directors
Our esteemed Board Officers
Deborah Scherer
President
Senior Vice President, Global Trade and Investment, One Columbus
Deb Scherer brings more than 15 years of global business development experience from both the private and public sectors. In her capacity as Senior Vice President, she is responsible for leading the Columbus Region in worldwide marketing and business development efforts for the One Columbus strategy.
Scherer’s private-sector experience as an International Sales Manager includes sales and marketing on five continents, territory development, mergers and acquisitions, and promotion of Ohio products globally.
Scherer is a Certified Global Business Professional (CGBP) accredited by the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators (NASBITE). She holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Ohio University where she majored in International Business and Marketing and minored in Spanish.
John Kahle
President-Elect
Associate General Counsel and Division Manager, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Law & IP Unit
Corporate Operations Support Division
John Kahle is the Associate General Counsel and Division Manager of
the Corporate Operations Support Division of the American Honda Law &
IP Unit.
Within the Law Division, he has handled employment and labor,
corporate governance, regulatory, and other legal matters for Honda in
the US.
John has been with Honda since 2001. In addition to his current duties,
he has held various positions at Honda, including at Honda’s Indiana
Auto Plant, and within the Honda Corporate Affairs Department in Ohio.
Prior to joining Honda, John worked as an Assistant Attorney General in
Employment Law Section for former Ohio Attorney General Betty
Montgomery. In addition, he worked as an Assistant Franklin County
Prosecutor in the Office of former Franklin County Prosecutor Mike Miller.
John received his law degree from the West Virginia University College of
Law in 1993 and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hampden-Sydney
College in 1989.
He and his wife live in Columbus, Ohio. They have three daughters. His
hobbies include running, skiing, and music.
Hiroaki Kawamura
Secretary
Associate Professor; Director, Area of Modern Languages, University of Findlay
Special Assistant to the Director, Findlay/Hancock County Economic Development
Grassroots Outreach Advisor - Ohio, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
Aaron McKee
Treasurer
CPA | Senior Assurance Manager Plante & Moran, PLLC
Board Members
Phil Barth
Former Honorary Consul General of Japan in Ohio
Scott Kuehn
Senior Manager - Economic & Business Development at American Electric Power
Isao Shoji
Programming Committee Chair
Managing Partner at TSG Advice Partners
Nobu Namba
Vice President, Corporate Banking Account Officer, Relationship Manager,
CTP at PNC
Hiroshi Fukuda
President at Nissin Travel Service (U.S.A.), Inc.
Hiroshi Nemoto
Director, Japanese Business Services at GBQ Partners LLC
Anthony Weis
Development Committee Chair
Partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
Brian Cataldi
Sales Department Manager at TS Tech Americas, Inc.
Yoshihiro Hidaka
President/CEO at Hidaka USA, Inc.
Mari Noda
Education Committee Chair
Former Professor of Japanese at The Ohio State University (Retired)
Isao Yamakawa
Membership Committee Chair
Information Scientist at CAS - A division of the
American Chemical Society
Kensuke Oe
President of Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, LLC
Sachiyo Peterson
Partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
Chris Petersen
Senior Vice President at Honda Trading America
Kasumi Yamazaki
Associate Professor of Japanese & Director of Japanese Program at The University of Toledo