Yoko S. Ihaza is the VP of Business Development and Legal Affairs at Create Music Group. As the company's first in-house music lawyer, she built and leads the Business Affairs team. During her time at Create, Ms. Ihaza has introduced new processes and systems that transformed the entire contracting process into one that is streamlined and efficient, partnering with the Product and Data teams to bring her ideas to fruition. She spearheaded the initiative to build the music legal team from scratch, drawing on her network to recruit the right talent and helping the company scale at record speed.

Ms. Ihaza leads negotiations across the company. Early on at Create, she led the negotiations for Ice Spice ahead of the artist's breakout into a household name. She has since drafted and negotiated deals for a roster of marquee clients and partners — among them Sublime, Jason Derulo, Durand Bernarr, Nine Vicious, and the GoodTalk joint venture — and recently drafted and negotiated Create's multimillion-dollar partnership with dai + drm to launch an AI-driven label. She frequently advises Create on high-profile partnerships.

Before joining Create, Ms. Ihaza represented artists, managers, and producers in music law. She began her career in corporate practice at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and Sklar Kirsh LLP.

Ms. Ihaza earned her juris doctor from Loyola Law School Los Angeles, where she graduated Order of the Coif and served as executive editor of the *Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review*. She received her bachelor's degree, cum laude, from DePaul University. Deeply committed to mentoring the next generation, she was honored to deliver the keynote address at Loyola Law School Los Angeles' 2024 Black Graduation, and she has served as a Women's Youth Leader in her Buddhist organization for nearly 15 years. She also recently launched a masterclass, "Landing the Dream," created to mentor women in pursuit of their ideal careers.