Former Google Japan Chairman joins the RichRelevance Advisory Board as the company accelerates global growth
San Francisco, CA – November 4, 2014 – RichRelevance®, the global leader in real-time, dynamic omnichannel personalization for e-commerce, today announced that veteran technology executive Norio Murakami has joined the RichRelevance Advisory Board. Murakami, who was previously responsible for all aspects of Google’s business in Japan as President and ultimately Honorary Chairman, will provide his guidance and leadership as RichRelevance establishes and progresses its business in Japan and the Asia Pacific region.
“Mr. Murakami has unparalleled expertise in innovation in the Japanese market and brings a wealth of understanding in technology and international commerce,” said David Selinger, CEO of RichRelevance. “His guidance and insight will be essential in advancing our partnerships with existing and future Japanese customers, accelerating our growth and investment in Japan, while cementing our ability to bring the power of personalization to retailers, brands and consumers everywhere.”
RichRelevance currently serves more than 200 market-leading brands, e-commerce and retail companies, including Target, Tesco, L’Oreal, Office Depot, BestBuy, Costco, Patagonia, Marks & Spencer and others, in 40 countries and 25 languages. The company continually introduces and optimizes strategies to use data to drive a differentiated customer experience, and currently ranks #1 for personalization based on its vision, innovative open platform and award-winning product suite (San Francisco Business Times Tech & Innovation Award, May 2014). Over the past 18 months, RichRelevance named former MicroStrategy executive Eduardo Sanchez as President and welcomed Ricardo Fuchs as VP of Asia Pacific Operations, and Keisuke Kudo as Representative Director, Japan.
“Retail is undergoing a dramatic change around the world, driven by the proliferation of mobile devices, the ubiquity of Internet access, as well as the emergence of online mega-malls. Retailers are seriously challenged by—and challenging—Amazon,” said Murakami. “RichRelevance sits at a tremendously important intersection of data and customer experience, creating new connections between retailers, brands and consumers around the globe, and bringing unique technology Japanese customers are sure to appreciate. I’m excited to join David and his team as they continue to innovate a new era of relevance in the store and online –everywhere consumers shop today.”
In addition to the appointment of Murakami, RichRelevance recently opened a new office in the center of Tokyo to support its expansion, and also unveiled its new website http://richrelevance.jp/.
About Norio Murakami
Norio Murakami joined Google in April 2003 as Vice President of Google Inc., as well as President & Representative Director of Google Japan. In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of Google’s business in Japan. He became Honorary Chairman of Google Japan in 2009, and retired from Google in 2011.
Prior to joining Google, Mr. Murakami served as President of Docent Japan, where he established the Japanese subsidiary in 2001. He built and oversaw the company’s presence in Japan, creating a strong name for himself and the company in the e-learning industry. He also previously served as President & CEO of Northern Telecom Japan, for which he successfully merged and integrated the company with Bay Networks Japan, whose parent company Bay Networks had been acquired by Northern Telecom, and was later re-named Nortel Networks Japan. Prior to his role as President & CEO of Nortel Networks, he served as President of Informix Japan and held management positions at Digital Equipment Corporation Japan.
He is author of several books, including The Murakami Way of Getting Work Done Simply, The Murakami Method for Simple English Learning, and Introduction to Knowledge-based Systems. He currently serves as a professor at the Center for Global Communication of International University, as a special guest professor at the Graduate School of Keio University, and as visiting professor at the Osaka Institute of Technology. Murakami also serves as advisor to some prefectural governors and national ministries in Japan, and is a frequent guest speaker at policy gatherings in Japan. Murakami graduated from Kyoto University with a B.S. in engineering.