Denise Moriguchi

Denise Ritsuko Moriguchi (born 1976) is an American businesswoman who currently serves as the president of Uwajimaya since 2016 and as its CEO since 2017.[1][2]

Denise Moriguchi
Born1976 (age 44–45)
Seattle, Washington
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBusinesswoman
Years active2013 – present
EmployerUwajimaya
Spouse(s)Rob Vong
Children2

Biography

Moriguchi is the daughter of Tomio Moriguchi, who served as the CEO of Uwajimaya. Her aunt Tomoko Moriguchi-Matsuno also served as CEO of this organization. She is also the great-niece of George Tsutakawa.[3]

After graduating from Lakeside School, Moriguchi moved to the East Coast of the United States for further education. She obtained a degree in economics and Asian studies from Bowdoin College in 1998 and has a Master of Business Administration from MIT Sloan School of Management.[4][5] She is the first member of her family to hold an MBA.[6] After obtaining an MBA, Moriguchi worked at Dove Consulting and Bayer HealthCare before returning to Seattle in 2013 so that she can continue her work at Uwajimaya while having her two children grow up with their extended family.

Moriguchi acceded to her position as president of Uwajimaya on March 1, 2016.[7] She succeeded her aunt to the position as CEO of Uwajimaya in February 2017.[8][9] She was also appointed to the Washington State Convention Center's board of directors in February.[10] She was interviewed by the North American Post about her experiences prior to her tenure as CEO that same year.[11] Her family received the 2017 Tomodachi Award for their contributions to the relations between Japan and Seattle.[12]

Moriguchi was one of the members of the 2018 Japanese American Leadership Delegation.[13][14] In May 2018, Moriguchi called for the city of Seattle to abandon a proposed head tax, saying that it is not only "an Amazon tax." She argued that the proposed tax would also impact smaller companies, including Uwajimaya, greatly.[15][16] When the head tax came to effect, she contributed to efforts to repeal the tax.[17][18] She was elected to American Automobile Association Washington's Board of Trustees in November.[19]

References
  1. "HR 4685 - 1993-94" (PDF). Washington State Legislature. 1994-02-09. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  2. "Denise Moriguchi". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  3. "Sadako Tsutakawa Moriguchi". Legacy.com. The Seattle Times. 2002-07-28. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  4. Leslie Helm, 'Executive Q+A: Uwajimaya's CEO Denise Moriguchi on Running the Family Business', Seattle Business (November 2018).
  5. Philip Kiefer, '', Bowdoin Magazine (Winter 2019).
  6. Sternquist, Brenda; Goldsmith, Elizabeth B. (2018-01-25). International Retailing. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 291. ISBN 9781501323638.
  7. Neal, Gabriella (2016-03-03). "Top women — Uwajimaya bosses on leadership". Northwest Asian Weekly. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  8. Tu, Janet I. (2017-01-17). "Uwajimaya chairman Moriguchi steps down as daughter Denise takes CEO role". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  9. Tu, Janet I. (2017-01-22). "Denise Moriguchi aims to carry Uwajimaya brand forward". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  10. "Board of Directors". WSCC. Archived from the original on 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  11. Sasaki, Shihou (2017-05-11). "Interview with Denise Moriguchi, CEO of Uwajimaya Inc". The North American Post. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  12. "Moriguchi family to receive 2017 Tomodachi Award". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  13. Yamamoto, J.K. (2018-02-13). "10 Members of 2018 JA Leadership Delegation to Japan Announced". The Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  14. "JALD Delegation Returns From Japan". Pacific Citizen. 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  15. Romano, Benjamin (2018-05-08). "Not just an 'Amazon tax': Other Seattle businesses join head-tax fight". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  16. Beekman, Daniel; Wu, Sarah (2018-06-10). "Head-tax fight hits Seattle's streets as referendum campaign faces deadline". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  17. Davila, Vianna; Romano, Benjamin (2018-06-11). "Businesses get a win on head tax, but solution to Seattle homelessness crisis still elusive". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  18. Joel Moreno & Steve McCarron, 'Conflicting explanations behind Seattle's vote to repeal big business tax', Komonews (12 June 2018).
  19. "Denise Moriguchi elected to AAA Washington's Board of Trustees". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
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