Financial Executives International has established its first-ever international chapter, FEI Japan, finally expanding the organization beyond North America.

Marie Hollein

The group currently has 85 chapters and over 15,000 members, but the majority of them are in the U.S.

The establishment of the FEI Japan Chapter, which received its charter on Jan. 6, 2012, will increase the organization’s international presence, perspective and solutions to developing global challenges. FEI plans to celebrate the milestone with its first chapter event, “The Technical Roundtable on IFRS and How it Relates to the U.S. and Japan,” on Feb. 22.

“FEI’s vision has always been to be recognized as a leading global organization for senior-level financial executives, and the historic formation of our chapter in Japan represents a major step toward our global vision,” said FEI president and CEO Marie Hollein in a statement Tuesday. “Tokyo is an important and growing business market, and we are seeing that Japanese corporations are facing increasing challenges as they prepare to move toward IFRS adoption. Our Japan chapter will allow us to work together as a global organization and further our efforts to address the challenges business leaders face in the region.”

The leader of the FEI Japan Chapter is Greg Fenich, the CFO of Microsoft Corp. Japan, “We look forward to continuing the traditions of FEI and growing the brand internationally,” he said.