Bio
Hiromi Sakae Ogawa is Vice President of Advancement, Global Philanthropy at Minerva University, where she leads the university's fundraising strategy globally. As founding Representative Director of Minerva Japan, she established the university's presence in the country through negotiating a $50 million partnership with the Nippon Foundation and a learning-science collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and launching the Tokyo Rotation City Program. She previously spent nearly two decades at Mitsui & Co., leading investment, business development, and human resources across sectors including aerospace, healthcare, and education.
She is a recognized voice on global education, innovative university models, and career reinvention, contributing commentary and insights to prominent Japanese media outlets including Nikkei Shimbun, Nikkei WOMAN, and Nikkei Reskilling. She has also spoken publicly about the application of Minerva’s curriculum within Japanese higher education.
Hiromi holds an M.S. in Decision Analysis from Minerva University and a B.A. from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan.
Selected Media & Public Engagement
- Nikkei Woman — Columnist, "学びの現場から、世界をひらく" (From the Learning Frontline: Opening Up the World), a seminar-record series on global education (May, 2025 https://woman.nikkei.com/atcl/column/23/060200133/050700119/).
- Nikkei Shimbun (日本経済新聞) — Featured commentator in the "新しい学校のかたちとは" (What the New Shape of School Looks Like) discussion, alongside the founders of Kamiyama Marugoto College and Kazakoshi Gakuen, in the paper's 時論・創論・複眼 opinion series (Jan 5, 2025) ( https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOCD204O60Q4A221C2000000/).
- Nikkei WOMAN — Profiled in the magazine's "OFF" feature on evidence-based rest, self-regulation, and sustaining focus (November 2025) ( https://woman.nikkei.com/atcl/column/21/20210403/092500292/).
- Nikkei Reskilling (日経リスキリング) — Featured profile on her mid-career move from the financial and investment sector to graduate study at Minerva University and the education sector (October 2022) ( https://reskill.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOLM0349Y0T01C22A0000000/).
- Press coverage — Named in coverage of Minerva's partnerships with the Nippon Foundation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education.
- KEI Higher Education Online Seminar — Guest speaker, "ミネルバ大学型カリキュラムはどこまで有効か" (How Effective Is the Minerva-Style Curriculum?), on adapting Minerva's model in Japanese higher education (July 2025).