Aya Takase, PhD

I have a head of a scientist and a heart of a salesperson.

Here is how it all came about.

As an X-ray application scientist, I have been working with engineers to design automated and user-friendly analytical instrument software interfaces and providing training courses and consultations for 25 years.

While I enjoy the science side of my job, I get the most satisfaction when working with the sales team, closing deals, and getting orders.

I am a painter trained by a professional artist for seven years and later became a self-taught graphic designer. I have always loved reading and learned to love writing through my work in the last several years.

All these experiences and skills came in handy when I started focusing on inbound marketing for analytical equipment business, which requires scientific background, customer service experience, a love for writing, and graphical user interface and graphic design skills.

I wish I could say I had planned it this way, but I didn’t. If you are not lucky enough to find your passion when you are young, I believe you are better off trying to be passionate about what you do than continuing to search for your passion without settling. So that’s what I did to get here.

where i came from

Experience

08/2022 - Present | Marketing Director | Rigaku Americas Corporation

  • Responsible for the Americas marketing department
  • Responsible for planning and executing inbound marketing for key market segments and product lines
  • Designed and taught an inbound marketing training course for subject matter experts and marketing staff

06/2018 - 03/2023 | Director of X-ray Imaging | Rigaku Americas Corporation

  • Responsible for marketing and pre/after‐sales technical support of X‐ray imaging products
  • Established and managed a new laboratory to support X‐ray imaging instruments in NA
  • Developed an educational webinar series now widely recognized in the field with over 2,500 and growing followers
    https://imaging.rigaku.com/learning/x-ray-ct-webinars-and-workshops
  • Led digital transformation of marketing as the first case in the company
  • Planned and executed the inbound marketing strategy for the X-ray imaging product line, which increased the pipeline and revenue 3.5X and 3X, respectively
    https://imaging.rigaku.com

06/2008 – 11/2010 | Product Specialist | Rigaku Americas Corporation

  • Provided pre/after‐sales technical support for XRD products

04/2003 – 06/2008 | Regional Sales Manager for North America | Rigaku Corporation

  • Communicated and negotiated the needs of the NA office to the headquarters in Japan
  • Contributed to a 100% increase in revenue by providing technical support for sales
  • Negotiated the company out of a non‐compete development agreement with a major software supplier

04/2003 – 06/2008 | Application Scientist | Rigaku Corporation

  • Established procedures and built an advanced training course for a new product category (semiconductor thin‐film analysis)
  • Provided a major contribution to the design of a new product employing the expert system in the industry for the first time (US Patents US D566278 and US 7711091)

Skills

Education

  • Ph.D., Engineering, Osaka University Japan, 03/2022
  • Master of Science (Physics), Tokyo University of Science Japan, 03/1998
  • Bachelor of Science (Physics), Tokyo University of Science Japan, 03/1996

Selected publications