James Fiorillo

Program: MBA
Graduated: 1990
From: USA
Current place: CEO (Founder) of eXcape Entertainment Group
Former Places: Commerzbank Securities, ING Barring Securities, etc.

How did your IUJ experience help you get to where you are today?
IUJ brought me to Japan in the first place. To those that have not had a chance to live outside of their own country the experience may be incomprehensible. It is an eye-opening lesson of tremendous value. I have now been living in Japan for 29 years and have visited 45 countries thanks to a 25 year career in finance.
Can you share a specific example of how IUJ influenced you?
The IUJ experience gave me my first exposure to peoples of various nationalities, ethnicities, religions and cultural backgrounds, conditioning me to deal with a diversity. This proved extremely valuable as I developed my business career in international finance after graduation.
Do you have another example to share?
The discipline of having to have assignments done on time, with little room for excuse, coupled with a very professional academic schedule and highly rates professors helped me to mature at a faster rate (from a business perspective) than would have otherwise been possible. There is no doubt that his helped me succeed more rapidly in my career after graduation.
What from IUJ are you currently using or relying on in your professional life?
MBA courses teach students various aspects of business management from strategy formation to accounting. When I graduated I wondered how I would ever use such skills because I then proceeded to enter a securities brokerage firm at a fairly junior level. However, once I left finance and chose entrepreneurship, I started to put all of what I learned in the MBA program to work. What I learned was a critical factor in my success in a virtual reality oriented business.
Do you have any words to share with those considering an IUJ education?
IUJ is an ideal place to study at the university level because of it’s location – the area, while having many outdoor and culture activities at your fingertips, also provides the quiet times necessary for deep study – it is ideal for the serious student. I also believe the diversity of the students on campus is extraordinarily high and this is a positive chance to learn how to interact with various peoples.