Karen Tanaka

Co-Founder, Investor, Advisor, Vancouver Chinatown Foundation

Karen is an entrepreneur and advisor with experience scaling technology ventures and building strategic partnerships in emerging markets. She has served on leadership teams and worked closely with founders through critical growth phases, from pre-seed to IPO, with a focus on market entry, execution strategy, and leadership and culture development.

Her experience includes launching Google Street View with Immersive Media, driving global expansion at Centrinity, and collaborating on a cross-sector alliance between Maersk Supply Service and DeepGreen Resources for ocean resource exploration.

Karen mentors early-stage companies on bringing ideas to market and scaling with discipline, while building customer-focused teams that sustain growth. She also shares her governance and community knowledge as a director on the Nikkei Place Foundation, through six years of board service with the Alzheimer Society of BC (including roles as Governance & HR Chair and Vice Chair), and through volunteer leadership with community and heritage organizations.