[Event Report] AWLF Online Summit Vol.12
Guest Speaker: Dr. Chizu Sekine (Director, AWLF / Former President & CEO, Sumika Technical Information Center Co., Ltd.)
On Friday, June 12, 2026, we hosted the eleventh edition of our online summit series.
This month, we welcomed Dr. Chizu Sekine — a scientist, executive, and board director who has spent more than four decades navigating the worlds of research, corporate management, and governance with quiet tenacity. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated and to Dr. Sekine for sharing her journey with such candor, depth, and warmth.
The AWLF Online Summit serves as a “third place” where Asian women leaders come together across generations and borders for dialogue and mutual learning through shared stories and values.
■ Guest Speaker
Dr. Chizu Sekine, Ph.D.｜Director, Asia Women Leaders Forum / Former President & CEO, Sumika Technical Information Center Co., Ltd.
From a childhood fascination with astronomy and physics, Dr. Sekine went on to study chemistry — not by choice, but because it was the only university department where she was accepted. She joined Sumitomo Chemical after completing her master’s degree, spending over 20 years in research and development of core display materials including liquid crystal materials, LCD optical films, and organic EL light-emitting materials.
Told by a professor that “you don’t need a doctorate to make miso soup,” she quietly pressed on — eventually earning her Ph.D. through research conducted at the company itself. She later moved into business development and commercialization of organic EL technologies, served as Executive Officer of Sumitomo Chemical, and became President & CEO of Sumika Technical Information Center Co., Ltd. in 2020, where she led the company for five years.
Today, she serves as Outside Director at four companies including KOKUSAI ELECTRIC, R-by-Logien, and SBS Holdings, and holds advisory committee roles at the University of Tokyo and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies. As a Director of AWLF, she is committed to building a society where women can freely choose their own paths.
■ Highlights from the Keynote
“A Life That Never Gives Up — That is the only way I can describe my career.”
Dr. Sekine shared her journey from student to scientist to CEO with remarkable candor — not as a story of grand ambition, but of steady, unhurried persistence:
- The power of not giving up — Failed her preferred university entrance exams. Was forced to study chemistry, a subject she actively disliked. Was told by her academic supervisor that “you don’t need a doctorate to make miso soup.” None of it stopped her. Not out of fierce determination, she reflected, but simply because she couldn’t bring herself to quit
- Burning Desire — A keyword passed to her by Mr. Yokoyama, former Managing Director of McKinsey Japan, who taught her that without a burning, visceral desire to achieve something, truly important things cannot be done. Alongside her personal motto shingan jōju — “a sincere wish will be fulfilled” — this conviction has quietly shaped her life
- “Not this or that — but this and that” — Depth and breadth are not in conflict. Staying in one field long enough to master it naturally expands outward. The same commitment that made her an expert in display materials eventually led her to management, governance, and beyond
- You don’t need a role model — In an era when only 12% of Japanese women attended four-year universities and almost none worked in scientific research, Dr. Sekine had no one to follow. “I never found it difficult that no one had done it before,” she said. “If anything, it meant I could do it my own way.” This message — that the absence of a role model is not a barrier but a kind of freedom — landed with particular resonance across generations
■ From the Dialogue Session
The second half of the evening brought rich conversation across generations and borders:
- Participants explored the nuance between healthy perseverance and knowing when to let go — and how that balance shifts across different stages of life and career
- Many resonated with Dr. Sekine’s reflection that staying in one place for a long time, which can feel like stagnation, was actually the source of her deepest expertise and eventual influence
- Her experience balancing career and family, and navigating male-dominated organizations with quiet resolve, prompted candid sharing from participants at very different stages of their own journeys
Dr. Sekine’s story — told without embellishment, without drama, and without any claim to exceptional talent — left participants with something rare: the quiet confidence that steady, honest effort, carried forward without giving up, is enough.
■ Looking Ahead
AWLF continues to work toward its vision of cultivating one million women leaders from Asia by 2030, with a major international summit scheduled for September 2026 at the United Nations ESCAP headquarters in Bangkok, bringing together 300 Asian women leaders — including 100 youth leaders.
This online summit was yet another step toward that shared future: an evening where perspectives deepened, connections formed, and the good cycles we are building together grew a little stronger.
Our next online summit (Vol.12) will be held on Friday, July 10, 2026, welcoming Ms. Hiromi Nakano — Social Facilitator and HR Consultant — who spent years at the World Bank and is known as the translator of the original message behind “If the World Were a Village of 100 People.” We warmly invite you to join us.
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