Matsume Kai

Matsume is a Canadian born Japanese living in Shanghai for the last 7 years. Her day-job is as a Creative Stylist for Beijing Hair Culture. She’s been here since a time when Shanghai’s life was just starting to be re-influenced by the West. She grew with the city so is best placed to know what’s going on. Through the salon she meets successful clients from all industries. Combined with her sociable life style that led her to be very knowledgeable about, and known around, town. It was a natural step when the Business Director of SmartShanghai, the city’s most popular webzine, proposed her to start an online column “Ask Matsume”. This advice column grew in popularity very fast. It was soon developed to a podcast that was downloaded about 500 times per day. Questions came in ranging from the best place to get sensual massages, to the best way to break up with your boyfriend. This led to further opportunities. She hosted a documentary called “Sex and Relationships in Shanghai with Matsume” for Current TV, also the first Shanghai Jazz Social Series presented by SmartShanghai, and last year was the cover girl on FHM China for the feature “China is Hot! China’s Most Influential Women”. Nobody can predict the next few year’s of China’s development. This gives Matsume the passion to stay and get a front row seat (that’s if she’s not the on stage).