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Anime Expo's Parent Organization Names New CEO
posted on by Mikhail Koulikov
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA), the parent organization of the Anime Expo convention, announced that it has concluded its search for a new chief executive officer. Trulee Karahashi, SPJA's current chief financial officer, has accepted the position. Prior to joining the SPJA in 2004, Karahashi was an Anime Expo staffer. She first worked in the art show department in 1996-97 and later held positions as guest lounge manager (1999), director of guest services (2000-2001), and industry liaison (2002).
The SPJA has been without a permanent chief executive since September of 2005, when then-CEO Jennifer Pon resigned her post. Since then, interim CEOs have included board member Chad Kime, Karahashi herself, and, most recently, Josh Ritter, the chairperson of the SPJA's board of directors.
