Ikuko grew up in California until returning to Tokyo, Japan to attend middle-school. Growing up with a western, out-going American mentality and having experienced the transition to the subtle, “follow the crowd” Japanese culture, Ikuko decided to major in Philosophy at university to better understand and bridge western and Japanese culture.

Throughout Ikukos’ 20+ years experience in the entertainment industry, she has worked with Tohokushinsha Film Corporation, Toshiba Digital Frontiers Inc, Toshiba Entertainment, d-rights Inc and ASATSU-DK Inc.

Ikuko was appointed as President of Axis Euroasia Ltd in 2005 where she co-produced Appleseed Ex Machina with John Woo, Shinji Aramaki and Digital Frontier Inc.

From 2011 to 2015, Ikuko was the Head of Licensing, Head of Global Sales and co-producer at d-rights Inc.  Her team brought phenomenal success to the Beyblade – Metal Fight series through creative business solutions between TakaraTomy, Hasbro and brand licensing agencies and broadcasters around the world. At ASATSU-DK Inc, Ikuko spearheaded the evergreen property Crayon Shinchan and its first ever APAC Brand Summit.

In 2017, Ikuko founded Creative Minds LLC with the aim to evolve existing business models with a creative mind solution through clear communication channels and building a strategic network between Japan and the wider APAC region and the rest of the world.  In 2019, Ikuko and Creative Minds formed a strategic partnership and affiliation with Big Picture Licensing to develop and open new product distribution markets as well as provide valuable insight into the APAC region.