Professor Wouter Dessein, Eli Ginzberg Professor of Finance and Economics, was selected as this year’s Columbia Business School participant for the Keizai Koho Center Invitation Program for U.S. Business School Educators held from May 25-29, 2009. KKC arranged visits in Japan with corporate executives, scholars, government officials, and politicians, with the intent of promoting understanding of the Japanese economy, corporations, and management methods.  Professor Dessein was joined by Gautam Ahuja, Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration, University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business; Melissa Schilling, professor of management, NYU Stern School of Business; Jeanette Song, professor of operations management, Duke University's Fuqua School of Business; and Shyam Sunder, James L. Frank Professor of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Yale School of Management. The program culminated with a symposium titled, Global Economic Crisis and Challenges for Japanese Corporations. Professor Dessein addressed management practices and the organization of firms across Europe, U.S. and Asia.Professor Hugh Patrick, Director of the Center on Japanese Economy and Business and Charles Wolf Jr., senior economic adviser and corporate fellow in international economics of the RAND Corporation, are responsible each year for selecting faculty from Columbia and other top-tier academic institutions to participate in this one-week program. The program is organized and financed by the KKC, an arm of Nippon Keidanren.