Ray Gordon
Principal

Ray Gordon is the partner responsible for all Courage Group graphics, video and photographic design services. He is an award-winning designer with a wide breadth of experience in architecture, training, photography, video and computer graphics.

Originally from New York City, Ray has 25 years of experience in developing and testing graphics software packages, as well as training professionals on graphic computer systems. He lived in Japan for 12 years, and has been an art director for several Japanese advertising agencies. Ray also founded a design and marketing company selling American and European apparel and furniture products to the Japanese market.

A graduate of New York’s renowned Pratt Institute, Ray holds both Bachelors and Masters degrees. His writing and photographs have been widely published.

Ray taught graduate level courses for 17 years at Pratt, New York University and Columbia University, and has spoken to professional audiences on architecture, graphics and marketing in the USA and Japan. He has also taught several design courses at Temple University Japan.

Ray is currently serving as Vice Chairman of the Commercial Marine Biology Institute and Abalone Farming International.

Linda Sherman
Principal

Linda Sherman directs the Courage Group’s Innovation Marketing services. She is a marketing and management expert with over 25 years of executive and consulting experience. She was a director of a Japanese market research company, founded Coors Japan, and has served as president of Club Med Japan, Sara Lee Japan, and Barilla Japan. Linda gained significant insight into trade marketing through our association with the Seiyu Wal-Mart joint venture.

A native of Los Angeles, Linda has been active in a number of business organizations in both the USA as well as Japan. Linda speaks and reads Japanese, and is an executive committee participant of the prestigious Nihon Keizai Doyukai. She is Chair of the ACCJ Marketing Programs Committee. Linda is founder and Chair of a group of top women executives in Japan, and is a member of the Economist Corporate Network.

Linda is serving as the marketing advisor to the Commercial Marine Biology Institute and Abalone Farming International.

Teruo Aoki
Advisor

Teruo Aoki is primarily responsible for supporting the Courage Group’s market entry services for Japan. He is a highly respected expert in Japanese retail distribution systems and e-commerce.

A top graduate of Keio University as well as the Stanford MBA program, Mr. Aoki is currently a professor of marketing in the MBA program at Rikkyo University in Tokyo.

Mr. Aoki was a top executive at Mitsubishi Corporation where he was responsible for food marketing and distribution for many years. In the 1990’s he was responsible for evaluating, selecting and initiating Mitsubishi Corporation’s new business ventures. From 2000, he was CIO and head of New Business for Lawsons.

Mr. Aoki has managed several companies through the IPO process. He currently serves as a board member on several internet related companies listed on Japanese stock exchanges.