Jason Sakata-Thompson

About Jason Sakata-Thompson

Seasoned Go-To-Market, Channel Partner Management and Sales specialist with 14+ years of experience driving revenue, market share, and strategic growth across AI, IT services (Risk Management, Threat Intelligence, SaaS, ERP/BPM Systems) Medical Technology, and Consumer Products. Trilingual (Native Japanese, Advanced Mandarin Chinese) with 15+ years leading partner-led go-to-market strategies across Japan, APAC and the U.S, through channel partner management, sales and marketing and 6+ years of consulting, brand management, and market entry strategy.With strategic vision and operational agility through a cross-cultural lens, I\'ve led first-of-their-kind proof-of-concept AI-driven physical and cyber risk frameworks for global manufacturers, automotive clients, and government agencies, aligning with security, crisis response, and supply chain risk initiatives.Let’s connect if you’re building or scaling a channel partner-led GTM strategy in Japan or APAC and need a proven operator to bridge markets, manage alliances, and deliver results.

Experience

1. Channel Partner Manager

   Dataminr

   Nov 2024 — Present · Tokyo, JP

   Built and scaled Dataminr’s Japan partner ecosystem, driving partner-led enterprise and public-sector growth in a highly localized procurement environment.Partner Strategy & Ecosystem DevelopmentIdentified, recruited, and onboarded 10+ Japanese VARs, system integrators, MSPs, and platform partners, generating $2.4M+ in annual partner-led sales and delivering 516% revenue growth over two years. Structured reseller and marketplace agreements aligned to Japanese commercial and compliance standards.Joint Business Planning & Revenue ExpansionDeveloped executive-level business cases, joint account plans, and renewal strategies securing multi-year agreements and sustaining 135%+ net revenue retention while expanding AI use cases across enterprise and government sectors. Drove 260% CAGR in target enterprise accounts.Partner Pipeline & Performance ManagementLed partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline execution from qualification through close, managing and forecasting across a $90M+ combined partner pipeline. Reported performance metrics, forecast cadence, and contribution analysis to support QBRs and global leadership reporting.Technical & Cross-Functional LeadershipActed as commercial-technical bridge across global matrix teams to support complex deals, aligning cloud architecture and API-based integrations between Dataminr’s AWS backend and customer Azure environments while ensuring SLA/MSA and data compliance adherence.Collaborated with SIs and sales engineers to design integrated cybersecurity and supply-chain intelligence solutions for $314B global manufacturer, enabling AI-driven initiatives mitigating an estimated $18M in potential daily loss exposure.Partner Relationship Management & Market ActivationServed as escalation point for pricing, contracting, and delivery coordination to preserve long-term partner productivity.Facilitated co-sell campaigns, positioning, messaging, and industry sessions including Splunk Japan events (300+ attendees)

Education

• University of Wisconsin-Madison

  Triple Major: Int'l Relations- Political Econ. and Public Policy / Japanese / East Asian Studies, Political Science, Economics, History, Foreign Language

  1997 — 2001

• National Taiwan Normal University, Mandarin Training Center

  Advanced Level Mandarin, Mandarin Chinese Studies

  2006 — 2009

• Thunderbird School of Global Management

  MBA in Global Management, Recipient of Global Mindset Scholarship (half tuition)

  2009 — 2011

• Keio University

  BA, International Business, Economics, Political Science

  1999 — 2000

• Guanghua School of Management, Peking University

  Master of Business Administration (MBA), MBA in Global Management

  2010 — 2010

• Tecnológico de Monterrey

  Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), MBA in Global Management

  2010 — 2010

• Minneapolis South High School

  Diploma

  1993 — 1997

Skills

• Survey Design
• Product Marketing
• Consumer Research
• Sales Analytics
• Cluster Analysis
• Market Entry
• Mandarin Chinese
• Business Analytics
• Mandarin
• Creative Concept Development
• Japanese
• Sales Managment
• Customer Relationship Management (Crm)
• Public Speaking
• Media Strategy
• Consumer Products
• Mba
• Translation and Interpretation
• Medical Devices
• International Business
• Team Leadership
• Foreign Languages
• Creative Briefs
• Product Management
• Marketing Research
• Market Research
• Strategic Marketing
• Event Marketing
• Copywriting
• Biotechnology
• Presentations
• Crm
• Database Marketing
• Marketing
• Strategy
• Presentation
• Business Development
• Brand Management
• Marketing Strategy
• Customer Relationship Management