Brazil-Florida Business Award Honorees

Chieko Aoki serves as Chief Executive Officer of Blue Tree Hotels & Resorts. Mrs. Aoki founded Blue Tree Hotels & Resorts and launched its brand in 1997. She works towards the development of economic and cultural relations between Brazil, United States, Japan and Latin America.

She participates actively in philanthropic and social activities to which she contributes with fundraising and resources. Throughout her professional life, she worked around the world in places such as the US, Asia and Europe. She began working in 1982 as the Marketing and Sales Director of Caesar Park São Paulo and, served as the President of Caesar Park Hotels & Resorts and of the oldest and most traditional hotel chain in the US, Westin Hotels & Resorts.

She is known in Brazil as the first lady of Brazilian hotel management for her innovation and talent, which has made a “benchmark” in the excellence of services in the sector. She participates in many private and government organizations, such as the Business Council of Latin America (CEAL), the Business Leaders Group (LIDE), the Brazil-Japan group of Sao Paulo's State Industry Federation (FIESP), the Brazilian Events Academy, the Association for the Centennial of Japanese Immigration and several other entities linked to tourism.

In 2006, she was elected the president of LIDEM, the Group of Leading Businesswomen, and took on a position in the Brazilian Marketing Academy. She was elected president of the Consulting Council of ADVB-Japan. Mrs. Aoki is a lawyer from São Paulo University (USP), with Management courses from Sofia University in Tokyo and Hotel Management from Cornell University in the US.