Mai began her career in asset management at State Street Corporation (U.S. Headquarters and Japan office), before moving on to Sony Corporation and Ericsson, where she engaged in communications, CSR, external relations, and international collaboration projects aligned with the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

After completing the Social Entrepreneurship Development Program at the Institute for Strategic Leadership (ISL), she founded and managed Knotwork Café, a members-based salon that brought together over 450 like-minded professionals to explore business-driven solutions to social challenges. Following her MBA at Central European University (CEU)—an institution founded by George Soros to promote democracy—Mai continued at CEU to foster entrepreneurship programs, international strategic partnerships, and impact investment initiatives.

Her academic contributions include serving as a lecturer at Nihon University’s Graduate School of Socio-Informatics, a researcher at Keio University’s Graduate School of SDM, and a Fellow of the Asia Leadership Fellowship Program supported by the Japan Foundation and International House of Japan.

In 2016, Mai established Knotwork Inc., providing education, strategic communications, research, interpretation, and consulting services focused on leveraging sensory intelligence to enhance emotional intelligence and drive social impact.

Her professional endeavors further extend to Deloitte (Hungary and Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory in Japan) in business development and consulting, advising on the launch of agri-tech and food-tech investment funds in collaboration with AgFunder and SDG Impact Japan, and serving as the Japan Chapter Catalyst for the Social Gastronomy Movement. She has advised projects including Daimaru-Yu SDGs Act 5 (promoting sustainable food), Cookpad’s World Cooking Index, and Moment, a global online personal cooking coach platform.

Mai also supports the Impact-Weighted Accounts (IWA) Project, backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, advancing the integration of social and environmental impacts into financial analysis for effective resource allocation and long-term stability. Additionally, she collaborates with BEENEXT to support global entrepreneurs, supports Professor Hidemitsu Furukawa of Yamagata University on 3D/4D food printing innovation in the areas of academic public partnership between Japan and Hungary, and counsels Cuoncropsto on quantifying decarbonization efforts.

Currently, Mai serves at the Future Food Institute Japan, where she is dedicated to building a vibrant ecosystem of individuals, organizations, and private sector leaders committed to fostering regenerative and sustainable food systems in Tokyo and beyond.