Our Founders

Sakiko Yamada is a private investor and the CEO of the Splendent Group.  

 

Sakiko was appointed to be a founding President of Japanese Academy for the International Academy of Gastronomy(AIG), the first official Academy in all of Asia. AIG works with United Nations (FAO), WHO, UNESCO, EU etc.

 

For her extensive humanitarian efforts, Sakiko was named as a Veuve CLicquot "WOMAN OF INFLUENCE" by LVMH. She was the youngest Advisory Board Member for St. Vincent's "Meals On Wheels", the Board of Governors of "Japan America Society of Southern California", founded in 1909 and co-chaired for Sir. Richard Branson's Virgin Unite and is a Tokyo Committee member for the Human Rights Watch and the SDGs advisor for Saga Prefecture. Sakiko is certified as a Protocol Officer by the Protocol School of Washington.

 

She is also an executive producer of the Al Pacino-directed feature film Wilde Salome which won the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the Venice Film Festival and now working on the Attack on Titan with Warner Brothers. Sakiko is also the Official Ambassador for World’s /Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

 

She was born and raised in Tokyo, where she graduated from University of the Sacred Heart and has spent 18 years in the USA, UK and Singapore.

Narcisa Pheres is globally recognized for her accomplishments as an entrepreneur, woman with vision and creative in the luxury goods industry. She is the founder and CEO of Italian luxury brand, PHERES, founded almost 20 years ago. She has been awarded by Forbes Romania in 2013 “the most influential woman in business outside the country”. Her one-of-a-kind designs are seen at the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammy, and Met Gala, and amongst celebrities wearing her designs are Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Madonna and etc. Narcisa has also been appointed as the Official Jewelry Supplier to Her Highness Princess Olga Romanoff.

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As an advocate and supporter of gender equality, education, social responsibility and sustainability, Narcisa gives talks around the globe sharing knowledge on branding, international business, and disrupting the markets in times of change. In 2018, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong nominated Narcisa for ‘Entrepreneur of the Year.’ Gafencu Magazine acknowledged Narcisa Pheres as part of their ‘300 Most Powerful People in Hong Kong’ for three consecutive years.

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She participated in the GIA Symposium with Harvard Business School’s Global Leadership program, sharing her insights about the future of luxury goods industry. After completing the course on ‘Leading Change in Time of Disruption’ from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Narcisa has been eager to share this knowledge with corporations and organizations that are ready to implement change.