David W. Everhart - Principal
David Everhart is a founder and Executive Director of Ionis International Inc., providing business communication consulting, training, leadership and coaching services to organizations operating globally. Mr. Everhart works with international executives to develop leaders and implement effective business strategies across cultures.

From 2006 to 2010, Mr. Everhart was a Senior Partner with Korn/Ferry International. From a base in Shanghai, David launched and served as the Managing Director for Asia-Pacific of the Leadership and Talent Consulting practice for three years. More recently he was the Global Leader for Korn/Ferry's Enterprise Learning business.

During his career, Mr. Everhart has conducted training programs, consulting projects, and intercultural management assessments for American, Japanese, Chinese, and European management teams at leading firms across multiple industry sectors. In addition, Mr. Everhart designed and co-delivered highly regarded executive education courses on Chinese, Japanese, and Indian management at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is a frequent speaker at various industry conferences on international business topics. Earlier in his career, Mr. Everhart served as president of PacificVision, a Japanese-owned training firm.

Mr. Everhart earned a master's degree of arts in East Asian studies from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in history from Cornell University. He speaks Japanese.

Susan M. Place - Principal
Susan M. Place is a founder and Managing Director of Ionis International, Inc. Ms. Place has supplied business communication training, consulting, mediation, and coaching services to organizations operating in the Pacific Rim for more than twenty years. She has conducted intercultural training programs and multicultural team-building seminars in the U.S., Japan, China, Thailand and Malaysia for hundreds of Western and Asian managers. Ms. Place has worked with executives from many firms and industries, including Agilent Technologies, Daiichi Pharma, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Lockheed Martin, Nikon, Nissan, Nomura Securities, Parke-Davis, Pillsbury, The Mathworks, and Wal-Mart. In addition, Ms. Place has taught executive education courses on Japanese management through the California Institute of Technology’s Industrial Relations Center (Caltech) since 1994. She is also known as a highly effective cross-cultural curriculum developer, including coursework for Caltech’s successful executive management courses on China, and India.

In the early 1980s, Ms. Place lived in Hitachi, Japan, working as a curriculum advisor for the Japanese Ministry of Education. Upon return to the United States, Ms. Place worked for the start-up team of Ichikoh Industries, a large Japanese manufacturing firm in the automotive industry in Michigan, managing relations between the firm and its American customers as well as acting as an intercultural communication facilitator. During her years at the company, Ms. Place was involved with all aspects of the business, from boardroom meetings to manufacturing quality circles. She has also worked with Japanese manufacturing (kaizen) consultants. British by birth, Ms. Place moved to the United States as a child and later became an American citizen. A trained mediator, Ms. Place holds a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University, has lived and traveled extensively in Asia and Europe, and speaks Japanese. Ms. Place recently lived in Shanghai, China from 2006-2009.

Ying Ying Liu, Ph.D. - Associate
Ying Ying Liu is a Chinese Business Specialist with Ionis International, assisting Western firms develop and implement business strategies in the Greater China region. Working with U.S.-based multinational corporations, Dr. Liu assists clients in developing market entry strategies in China, identifying and assessing potential strategic business partners, negotiating joint venture agreements, building cross-cultural work teams, and developing vendor integration processes to provide a bridge between American and Chinese business practices.

Born and educated in China, Dr. Liu then received her Ph.D. in the U.S. and has taught at the university level for six years. She provides a cultural native's insights on working, negotiating and communicating with Chinese business people. In early 2003, Dr. Liu relocated to Hong Kong where she now provides training programs and other services to Ionis’ clients in Asia.

Taka Muraji - Associate
Taka Muraji, Japanese Training Specialist, is an experienced intercultural trainer who has worked both in the U.S. and Japan facilitating business training programs. Mr. Muraji originally worked in advertising in Japan and New York City, and has consulted with U.S. firms such as Disney and Motorola helping them to establish marketing and advertising plans for Japan. He has conducted intercultural business training programs and team-building programs for such clients as Yamaha, Boeing, and Fuji Heavy Industries. Mr. Muraji is also working as marketing director for Unkai.com, a U.S.-based e-commerce company marketing U.S. health and fitness products to the Japanese market. He holds a B.A. from Eichi University in Osaka, and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Colorado.

Li Weaver - Associate
Li Weaver is a Chinese Business Specialist with Ionis International, assisting Western firms develop and implement business strategies in the Greater China region. She provides a cultural native’s insights on working, negotiating, and communicating with Chinese business people.

Ms. Weaver has worked as the Chinese Sourcing Manager for Murray Inc., a U.S.-based firm with Chinese ownership, making major outdoor power equipment. She evaluated the capabilities of factory sources in China, negotiated pricing and payment terms with Chinese suppliers, established supplier bases in China, and built a U.S.-China cross-cultural work team providing a bridge between American and Chinese business practices. Ms. Weaver has also worked as part of the U.S. sales arm for the China National Automotive Company.

Born in China, Ms. Weaver received a BA in International Business Management in Beijing and an MBA in the United States. She speaks Chinese and English.