Aiko SHIMIZUDirector of AI National Skills within the Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) team at Microsoft

Aiko Shimizu is the Director of AI National Skills within the Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) team at Microsoft. In this role, Aiko leads Microsoft’s strategic partnerships and engagement with government, industry, educational institutions, and civil society to shape national AI policy and strategy, while also overseeing the execution of large-scale AI skilling initiatives across Japan.

Previously, Aiko held various public policy and government affairs roles in the United Nations, policy think tanks, and the private sector across the United States, Japan, and Germany, including as Head of Japan Public Policy at Twitter. She is also an Adjunct Fellow at Pacific Forum, a Honolulu-based Asia-Pacific policy think tank, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Japan Reskilling Initiative.

Aiko holds graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago.