Session Speakers

Yuriko KoikeGovernor of Tokyo

■ Profile of the Governor: Born: July 15, 1952, in Hyogo Prefecture
Education: BA in Sociology, Cairo University (October 1976)

■ Career

July 2020 Re-elected to a second term as Governor of Tokyo
July 2016 Elected Governor of Tokyo
October 2011 Director, Committee on Budget, House of Representatives
September 2010 Chairperson, General Council, Liberal Democratic Party
July 2007 Minister of Defense
September 2006 Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for National Security Affairs
September 2004 Minister of the Environment and Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs
September 2003 Minister of the Environment
July 1993 Member of the House of Representatives
July 1992 Member of the House of Councillors

Adi IgnatiusEditor in Chief, Harvard Business Review

■ Career

Adi Ignatius has served as Editor in Chief of the Harvard Business Review Group since January 2009. In this role, he has led the editorial reinvention and digital transformation of HBR into an award-winning, multiplatform media group.
Before moving to HBR, Ignatius was the No. 2 Editor at TIME magazine. Prior to that, he worked for more than a decade at The Wall Street Journal, where he served as bureau chief in Beijing and Moscow.
He is the editor/originator of two books, both of which were New York Times bestsellers: "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang" and "President Obama: The Path to the White House."
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves (or served) on the advisory boards of Foreign Affairs, Harvard Public Health, The Wire, Climate & Capital Media, DocuSign, SUNY Journalism School, and the Stonington Historical Society.

Aimi SekiguchiMUSOU Co., Ltd VR Artist

■ Career

She has been active as an artist drawing 3D pictures that spread 360 degrees in VR space since 2016. She receives offers from 12 countries and performs live painting performances and art productions.Selected for Forbes JAPAN100 in 2021. Dubai Culture Authority certified artist.

Akifumi TakigawaManager CCUS&CDR at Mitsubishi Corporation

■ Career

Akifumi(Chris) is a global investing and business development professional in early to growth stage carbon removal technologies including DAC/ERW etc and also leading project sourcing for NextGen. Having extensive experience of leading origination, investing and creating strategic value to business at one of the largest Japanese investment conglomerate, and currently passionate about contributing to climate change by catalyzing the carbon removal market. Member of the International Advisory Council for Climate Impact X and the DAC working group for the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Akihiko OkamotoGeneral Partner, Headline Asia

■ Career

I've been involved in new business development and startup investments within Recruit Holdings and MUFG, executing over 100 investments totaling a $500 million fund.

Akito ArimaPartner, Beyond Next Ventures Inc.

■ Career

Akito Arima joined Marubeni Corporation and in the Grain Division, he was involved in all aspects of agribusiness from production to sales through the trading business.
He joined BNV in August 2019. Engaged as an investment manager focusing on agri-tech, food-tech and other life-tech sectors in general.
His goal is to create an agri-tech ecosystem. I would like to support the creation of an ecosystem of industry-academia-government-private cooperation and global expansion.

Allen John KuOperations Director at Startup Island TAIWAN

■ Career

Allen has over 15 years of professional experience in business development and sales. He is currently the Operations Director at Taiwan Startup Stadium. Previously, he was an entrepreneur in the U.S., an advisor of startups and has extensive experience in overseas outreach, cross border matchmaking, and internal controls.

Amina SugimotoCEO of fermata

■ Career

Born in Asia, raised in Africa and educated in Europe: Amina comes from a very diverse and multicultural background, and her mission is in bringing about a paradigm shift in healthcare by promoting better access to healthtech across the globe. She obtained a Doctor of Public Health Degree in Health Economics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and later moved back to Japan to assist the World Dementia Council in association with the Health and Global Policy institute. In 2017, she then joined a social impact-focused VC, Mistletoe Fund, based in Tokyo/Singapore, as their Healthcare Innovation Producer. Her specialisation is in health policy, Pharmaceutical Affairs laws and healthtech startup support. In 2019, she launched fermata, Inc., which now has become a leading FemTech ecosystem in Japan and Asia.

Anna KreshchenkoCEO of Flora Co., Ltd

■ Career

Anna graduated from the Faculty of International Relations, National University of Odessa, Ukraine, and the Faculty of Law, Kyoto University, Japan. She was selected by the S&R Foundation in 2020 to travel to Silicon Valley with the Kingfisher Leadership Program. In the same year, she founded Flora to improve women's physical and mental health care and to create a society in which women can play a more active role. She is a member of the Kyoto Prefecture Comprehensive Plan Formulation Study Committee and a recipient of the Brilliant Women Award of the Kansai Economic and Management Seminar in 2022.

Asako Tsujiarca inc. CEO & Creative Director

■ Career

A cross-border creator who works in any field from advertising to product production based on the two pillars of "creation with an ideology and social issues" and "creating works that focus on the worldview". In the spring of 2019, launched the "Ladyknows" project, which focuses on women's empowerment and healthcare. Additionally appeared regularly as a partner 《news zero》 on Wednesdays from the fall of 2019 to the spring of 2024. Taking on the challenge of approaching social issues from the perspective both of creator and influencer.

Atsuko NishigakiVice Governor, Chief Digital Officer and Chief Green Officer of Ishikawa Prefecture

■ Career

Atsuko Nishigaki was born in Tokyo, Japan. After graduating from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Law in 1991, she joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI). She earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Duke University and the University of Chicago. At METI, she oversaw competition policy, intellectual property strategy, digitalization and IoT of the manufacturing industry, branding strategy, design policy, and SME policy. Since July 2022, she has been serving as the Deputy Governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. In October of the same year, she also became the CDO of Ishikawa, where she has been responsible for the promotion of digital utilization in cooperation with the prefecture and its 19 cities and towns.

Ayako KageyamaSenior Expert, Sustainable Investments, Asia Pacific, UNDP

■ Career

Based out of Singapore, Ayako leads scale-up of SDG aligned investment in Asia through partnership with commercial financial institutions and corporates. Her involvement includes two impact funds in Asia and impact investing advisory on strategy, policy, structuring, portfolio management and standard setting with a number of investors/financiers. Prior to UNDP, she spearheaded various senior sustainable debt and equity investment roles in sustainable infrastructure and power/energy projects, including at Fidelity International, Standard Chartered Bank, Vena Energy and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

Ayumi Fujimoto President of General Incorporated Association Startup Ecosystem Association

■ Career

After graduating from university, Ayumi Fujimoto joined Career Design Center in 2002. She worked in sales and managerial roles for job advertising media and later joined Google in April 2007. After serving in roles related to agency relations, she became a sales manager. After leaving Google, she founded the General Incorporated Association at Will Work in May 2016. Following various roles, including PR Manager at Design of Money Corporation, she started her career at Plug and Play Corporation in March 2018 and currently oversees marketing and PR as the Executive Officer CMO. In March 2022, she established the General Incorporated Association Startup Ecosystem Association and became the President. She is a Minerva-certified instructor in the United States and, from 2023, serves as an ambassador for entrepreneur education under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and a specialist committee member for the Startup and Investment Working Group under the Cabinet Office Regulatory Reform Promotion Council.

Bernhard SchambeckHead of the BMW Group Technology Office in Japan

■ Career

Bernhard Schambeck is the Head of BMW Group Technology Office in Japan, responsible for identifying cutting-edge technologies within the Japanese eco system. He excels at setting up partnerships with companies, ranging from startups to industry-leading organizations. Prior to his current role, Bernhard served as the Head of BMW Startup Garage. His 25+ years of experience in the automotive industry as well as his experience in working with startups and as a founder of his own company allow him to understand both sides: the corporate and startup world. He has successfully worked with numerous early-stage startups throughout his career. Bernhard has joined BMW in 1996 and has since worked in several different positions. He holds a degree in Precision Engineering and Microsystems from the University of Applied Science in Munich.

Chieko TazukeInvestment Director, Sony Ventures

■ Career

Chieko Tazuke joined Sony Ventures in January 2022, specializing in investments in healthtech and deeptech startups. Prior to Sony Ventures, she worked at a consulting firm where she executed PMI for a cross-border M&A case between Japan and US, and provided support for a Singaporean startup entering the Japanese market. She worked at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in the Government of Japan, where she played a key role in establishing four venture capital firms affiliated with top universities in Japan. She holds an MBA from National University of Singapore, and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Tokyo.

Chiamin LaiGeneral Partner at UB Ventures

■ Career

Chiamin developed her expertise in strategic planning and managing overseas expansion across Asia as a consultant with Monitor Group. She then joined DCM Ventures, where she played a key role in investments in several prominent companies, including freee. In 2014, In 2014, Chiamin transitioned to the Chinese startup Happy Elements, where she led the XR Business as the head of the New Business Department in China and served as the CEO of the Japan office. She holds an MBA from IE Business School.

Chicky BhavnaniElevandi KK, Japan

■ Career

With 29 years of experience, Chicky is a digital transformation leader in insurance and technology across Asia Pacific. From working in innovative startups to founding a nonprofit focused on impact innovation, she has many achievements under her belt. A pioneer in bringing AI education to local communities, she has also served as the Regional Director at AXA and Transformation Leader at software giant TCS. Her expertise and passion for driving change have made her a respected figure in the industry, known for her innovative approaches and commitment to creating a positive impact through technology.

Chizuru SugaDirector for Digital Economy, METI
Counselor for Digital Administrative Reform, Digital Agency
/ Government of Japan

■ Career

Chizuru Suga is a policy entrepreneur currently serving as the Counselor for Digital Administrative Reform at the Japanese Digital Agency since 2021. In this role, she is leading a significant regulatory reform effort, orchestrating a one-time revision of 10,000 analog regulations across the government.

Chizuru's impact extends to her role as the Director for Digital Economy at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). She plays a key role in formulating the nationwide comprehensive plan for the Digital Lifeline, contributing to the development of essential public infrastructure for autonomous driving and drone logistics.

Prior to her current roles, Chizuru served as the Founding Head of the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan from 2018 to 2021. Leading a diverse team comprising members from government, local authorities, industries and academia, she directed global projects addressing data governance, smart cities, next-generation mobility, and healthcare.

Chizuru Suga holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in Law from the University of Tokyo.

Dylan FieldCEO & Co-founder of Figma, Inc.

■ Career

Dylan Field is the co-founder and CEO of Figma. Dylan studied computer science and mathematics at Brown University where he and his co-founder, Evan Wallace, first started experimenting with design tools built on (and for) the web. With funding from a Thiel fellowship, they began Figma. Prior to Figma, Dylan interned at O'Reilly Media, LinkedIn, and Flipboard.

Eri FukudaSHE inc. CEO/CCO

■ Career

Eri Fukuda is the pioneering founder of SHE inc., dedicated to providing career support for millennial women. SHE’s leading service “SHElikes” revolutionizing women's career advancement in Japan. Inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit in San Francisco during her Osaka University years, she self-taught programming and design. Recognizing the lack of learning opportunities for women, she launched design school, predecessor of SHElikes, upon returning home. While contributing to UX design at Recruit Holdings, she prioritized women's education. In 2017, she left to establish SHE inc., solidifying her commitment to empowering women in society.Mom of two boys.

Erik KymäläinenCEO, Wave Ventures

■ Career

Erik is leading Wave Ventures, Europe’s largest student-run VC helping Nordic Gen Z founders change the world by backing them earlier than anyone else. During the Wave II, fund that Erik raised in 2022, Wave has grown to be the most active VC in Finland with 19 deals in 20 months.
While building Wave, Erik has, e.g., explored the consulting world with McKinsey and learned how to code both through his own software company and as a software engineer in Qoco Systems. On the side, he has also graduated with a Master of Science from Aalto University and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Helsinki.

Erika Iwai Co-founder & CEO, Sollective

■ Career

An Imperial College London alum with a Master’s in Engineering; Erika began her career at Sumitomo Electric Industries, where she invented patents for new coating technologies. Seeking to broaden her expertise, she moved to the US to earn an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. There, her focus shifted towards learning how to build organizations capable of innovation. Post-MBA, Erika had unique opportunities to impact the creation and management of teams while working at top American companies. These companies include: the toy industry leader Mattel and the gaming giant Riot Games. Upon returning to Japan, Erika took a leadership role in talent management at Geometry Ogilvy Japan — part of the WPP Group. She later started consulting independently as a freelancer but wanted to scale up the positive impact she was making for her clients. This led her to co-found Sollective in 2020, taking advantage of her blend of global business perspectives, modern HR expertise, and her innate desire to improve work in Japan.

Eriko Suzuki Kind Capital Founder CEO

■ Career

Eriko is a tech and social impact angel investor focused on Wellbeing and Sustainability, and currently an advisor to VCs, Board Member of private and public companies, Director of Tokyo Women in VC, and executive coach.
Eriko is former founding member and Managing Director of Japan’s first ESG focused VC MPower Partners, and GP of Fresco Capital and Investment Director of Mistletoe, etc. and started her career in Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and UBS and later became Japan country manager of Silicon Valley based drone startup.
Author of “How we live, will be how we work” (Daiwashobo, 2018) and translator of New York Times best seller “Mission Economy: A moonshot guide to changing capitalism” (Mariana Mazzucato, 2021). Mother of two children.

Fariza Abidova Co-Founder & CEO of Trusted Corporation

■ Career

Fariza Abidova is a serial entrepreneur, passionate about promoting global business collaboration to accelerate technological innovation.
In 2016, Fariza launched her second company, Trusted Corporation, that helps large companies and startups accelerate innovation through cross-border and cross-industry collaboration.
Trusted Corporation is helping major Japanese and European companies innovate, by exploring new business models, applications for their technologies and creating new markets with Japanese and European startups.
She is also a mentor of Tokyo Metropolitan government acceleration program for women, a commentator at J-wave radio and Abema TV, a columnist at Nikkei Business Daily newspaper, a lecturer at Kobe University.

Gina Bartasi Founder & Executive Chairman of Kindbody

■ Career

Gina is Founder and Executive Chairman of Kindbody, the leading fertility clinic network and global family-building benefits provider for employers offering the full-spectrum of reproductive care from preconception to postpartum through menopause. Gina founded Kindbody with a passion to bring high-quality affordable fertility care to all, rather than a privileged few. Kindbody has 35 state-of-the-art fertility clinics nationwide, with plans to open eight additional locations in the next 12 months.
Kindbody is the trusted fertility benefits provider for 132 leading employers, covering more than 2.7 million lives. Many thousands more receive their fertility care directly from Kindbody throughout the country at signature clinics, mobile clinics, and partner clinics. As the fertility benefits provider, technology platform, and direct provider of care, Kindbody delivers a seamless, integrated experience with superior health outcomes at lower cost. Kindbody’s clinically-managed program covers the full-spectrum of reproductive health, including both female and male fertility, which encompasses fertility assessments and education, fertility preservation, genetic testing, in vitro fertilization (IVF), donor and surrogacy services, and adoption, as well as a full continuum of reproductive care including physical, mental, and emotional support. Kindbody has raised $315 million in debt and equity funding and anticipates continued rapid growth as more employers seek to reduce cost by eliminating the middleman and buying fertility services directly from the provider.

Hanako Montgomery International Correspondent at CNN

■ Career

Hanako Montgomery is an award-winning international correspondent for CNN, based in Tokyo.
Before joining CNN, Montgomery was an East Asia reporter for VICE. She helped lead VICE’s coverage on numerous key stories from the region, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the Beijing Winter Olympics and the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul. In 2023, Montgomery won a National News & Documentary Emmy Award as well as a Front Page Award for her work covering legal child abuse manga in Japan. She and her team secured rare access to examine the impact of this manga, including artists who actually drew these works, child abusers who consumed it and government representatives who have shirked responsibility for regulating these materials.
Prior to joining VICE, Montgomery was a TV Japan reporter for Japan’s state broadcaster, NHK, in its New York office. There, she covered the first major outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as culture and social stories across North America.
Montgomery graduated summa cum laude from Binghamton University. She also spent a year abroad in Tokyo’s Sophia University, where she studied Japanese politics and literature. She is fluent in English and Japanese, and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA). Born in London and raised in New York City, Montgomery now resides in Tokyo.

Haruna Nochi Co-Founder/COO of newmo

■ Career

Haruna Nochi is a business leader with high energy and an operation expert, as well as a thought leader in last-mile logistics and gig economy. With a unique combination of leadership in a global environment and an experience to empower local communities, Haruna successfully led the Japan business at Wolt as Country Manager. Prior to Wolt, she headed the Operations team at Uber Eats since its launch in Japan. Haruna is passionate at promoting a diverse, inclusive leadership. She earned an MBA from University of California, Berkeley.

Haruna Tanaka Head of Corporate Planning of Gojo&Company,Inc

■ Career

Haruna is a professional with expertise in strategy, business development, incubation and post merger integration. Prior to Gojo, she worked for Rakuten, a Japanese internet services company for 10 years. As a member of the CEO's office, she worked on special projects and other items on the CEO's agenda. She also initiated several internal and external accelerator programs, empowering startups to collaborate with Rakuten. Before Rakuten, she was a strategy consultant at Booz and Company. She graduated from Tokyo University majoring in Economics. Trustee of Impact Startup Association, partner of SVP Tokyo, member of Gojo Foundation.

Hidenori Watanave Professor of the University of Tokyo, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies

■ Career

Born in 1974. Professor of the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies and Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo. He received BE (Diploma Award) and ME degrees in Architecture from the Tokyo University of Science and PhD in Engineering from the University of Tsukuba. He has held the posts of Associate Professor of the Faculty of Systems Design at Tokyo Metropolitan University and Visiting Scholar of the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University. His publications include “Spinning the Data and Connecting it to the Society” and “Rebooting Memories of Prewar & War Through Colorized Photographs in Collaboration with AI and Human”(co-authored).

Hiroki KogaCo-Founder & CEO of Oishii Farm

■ Career

Hiroki Koga is the co-founder & CEO of Oishii Farm, the world’s largest indoor vertical strawberry farm. As a vertical farming industry expert with a decade of experience in the field, he leads the innovative company that is transforming the way we grow food today. Prior to co-founding Oishii in 2016, Koga worked as a consultant in the Strategy and Operations unit at Deloitte Consulting Japan, where he focused on the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology before spearheading the firm’s entry into agriculture technology consulting. Koga also worked for multiple venture capital firms to conduct due diligence on vertical farm-related investments. Koga earned his MBA from the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business, and graduated with a B.S. in economics from Keio University.

Hiromi OkudaCEO&Founder, Wiz. Group, Inc.

■ Career

Hiromi Okuda, a Social Welfare Master's graduate from University of Mumbai, founded Wiz. Group, Inc. in 2001, facilitating IT conferences in Japan. Since 2008, she advocates for startup development, fostering communities. In 2013, she initiated Takaranoyama Inc., exploring IT solutions for social issues. Committees: J Startup Supporter, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; Committee member, Medical-related venture promotion, Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.

Ida TinCo-founder and former CEO and Chairwoman, of Clue

■ Career

Ida Tin is the co-founder and former CEO and Chairwoman, of Clue the most trusted female health app. Clue has more than ten million active users in over 190 countries, and is one of the most popular apps in the “Health & Fitness” category in the United States, Germany, the UK, Brazil, France, Mexico and many other countries. Clue’s mission is to help people all around the world benefit from insights into female health. A lifelong entrepreneur and a modern feminist, Ida coined the term Femtech in 2016.
Ida has been interviewed or featured in major media including The New York Times, New York Magazine, Forbes, Der Spiegel and Le Figaro. She was also a speaker at prestigious conferences such as TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, LeWeb in Paris, Forbes Most Powerful Women in Montreal, Slush in Finland and many more.
Before starting Clue, Ida led motorcycle tours around the world for five years in the motorcycle touring company MotoMundo she cofounded with her dad Hjalte Tin. She guided tours in Mongolia, Cuba and Vietnam amongst other destinations. For two years she traveled solo in the western parts of the US on her motorcycle and wrote a book about her travel adventures, inner and outer, “Directress”, published in Denmark in 2009.
As a child Ida grew up travelling the world on motorcycles with her parents and older brother from she was a one year old baby sitting in front of her mother on the motorcycle through South America, the former Soviet Union, Africa and South East Asia. Ida attended various art schools in South Africa and London, and graduated in 2004 from the progressive social entrepreneurship BA level business school The KaosPilots in Denmark. Ida currently lives in Berlin and has two children.
She is now working on a new book about Femtech, leadership, technology and system’s change. She is an active voice in the Femtech space.

Inga G. GriegerManaging Director & Business Development Manager, BMW i Ventures

■ Career

Inga G. Grieger is Managing Director and Business Development Manager at BMW i Ventures. In this role, she strengthens the strategic collaboration between the portfolio companies of BMW i Ventures and the BMW Group. In addition, Inga focuses on strengthening ecosystems and bridging value creation.
BMW i Ventures is the independent venture capital firm of the BMW Group. From offices in Silicon Valley and Munich. BMW i Ventures invests in early to growth-stage companies defining the future of automotive, sustainability, manufacturing and supply chain. Since starting in 2011, the firm has $800Mio under management and has invested in over 75 startups. www.bmwiventures.com
With 19 years of professional experience in the automotive sector, Inga brings a wealth of experience to her role. Prior to joining the fund, she garnered valuable experiences on the supplier side. She spent ten years at BMW Group in various positions focusing on BMW Design innovation, interior development and digital products, specializing in innovation management. With her background as an automotive designer, she always has an eye on the needs of customers.
Inga holds a diploma in Transportation Design (University of Applied Sciences Munich) as well as a degree in Business Administration (University of Hagen).

Ingo RamesohlManaging Director, Bosch Ventures

■ Career

Dr. Ingo Ramesohl has been the managing director of Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC) since July 1, 2015. His areas of responsibility include technology strategies and decision-making at RBVC. In addition, he is in charge of liaising with the Bosch divisions. Ingo joined RBVC in early 2015, after holding various positions at Bosch in Germany, South Korea, and China for over 16 years. He has accumulated years of experience in various domains, including automotive electronics, development, quality assurance, accounting, and corporate planning. Ingo earned his doctorate in electrical engineering at RWTH Aachen University.

Jaana TuomiCEO of Enter Espoo, Espoo, Finland

■ Career

Jaana Tuomi is an ecosystem and brand builder who has led Enter Espoo since 2015. Enter Espoo helps companies and investors enter Espoo as well as helps companies grow in one of the Europe’s leading innovation communities. She also leads the Kvanttinova semiconductor and quantum hub project. Her background is in marketing consulting and collaboration platform building. Over the years Ms Tuomi has held several board member roles and chair positions in steering groups. She holds Executive MBA and master’s degree in marketing

James BurbridgeDirector at Carbon Direct

■ Career

James Burbridge draws on his experience as an energy markets journalist in China and Singapore where he covered the Chinese energy sector and Asia Pacific fuel oil markets. In 2015 he moved to North American carbon markets and helped launch the OPIS Carbon Market Report.
Prior to Carbon Direct, James worked at the XPRIZE Foundation where he designed and pitched the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal. He also worked on the prize operations team of the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE.

James SocasGlobal Head of Climate Solutions Business, Investcorp

■ Career

Mr. Socas is a Managing Director & Head of the Climate Solutions business at Investcorp. Climate Solutions brings Investcorp’s combination of capital, business-building services, international network and investment experience to the leading companies addressing climate change. Prior to his current role, Mr. Socas was a Managing Director at Blackstone. Mr. Socas currently serves as a board member of Island Press, the leading not-for-profit publisher on sustainability and the environment, and he is a senior advisor to the Dartmouth Tuck Business School's Center for Private Equity & Venture Capital. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the Harvard Business School.

Janette Sadik-KhanPrincipal, Bloomberg Associates

■ Career

Janette Sadik-Khan is one of the world’s foremost authorities on transportation and urban transformation. She served as New York City’s transportation commissioner from 2007 to 2013 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, overseeing historic changes to the city’s streets—pedestrianizing Broadway in Times Square, building nearly 400 miles of bike lanes, seven rapid bus lines and creating more than 60 plazas citywide. A founding principal with Bloomberg Associates, she works with mayors around the world to reimagine and redesign their cities. She chairs the National Association of Transportation Officials/Global Designing Cities Initiative, implementing new, people-focused street design standards, which have been adopted in more than 150 cities across the United States and around the world.

Jeff HuCEO & Founder of Turing Space

■ Career

CEO & Founder of Turing Space. Dialogue Speaker at United Nations Social Forum Geneva 2023. MEng'20 at UC Berkeley IEOR FinTech and Scholar at Blockchain X-Lab. GGLI Fellow Teaching at Hosei University. Global fellow @ Clinton Foundation. Worked at @Augmedix and @J.P. Morgan.

Jen CarterGlobal Head of Technology, Google.org

■ Career

Jen Carter is the global head of technology at Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, and leads the company’s pro bono initiatives. She has been at Google for over 15 years and works to harness the power of AI and other advanced technologies to accelerate the impact of nonprofits & civic entities around the world. As part of that effort, Jen manages a team of ~50 Google.org Fellows working in areas like education, economic opportunity, climate, crisis response, and more, with a focus on supporting underserved communities and providing opportunity for everyone. Over the past few years, she has led 400,000+ hours of pro bono work dedicated to that cause, helping nonprofits & civic entities build and launch over 40 social impact products. She was recently recognized as the Most Admired Product Leader, who up-and-coming product leaders aspire to be, as part of the Product 50, honoring the most innovative people in product.

Jesper Koll Expert Director & Global Ambassador for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund

■ Career

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1st retail investor based corporate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees and he is an Ambassador for FinCity Tokyo. Jesper serves on the board of directors of OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology) and Asia Society (Japan). Jesper is an economist, angel-investor, patron; and yes, a Japan Optimist.

Joanna KlitzkeProcurement & Ecosystem Strategy Lead, Frontier

■ Career

Joanna leads procurement and ecosystem strategy at Frontier, an advance market commitment to buy more than a billion dollars of permanent carbon removal by 2030, funded by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, McKinsey, and others. She has led 3 rounds of purchases to provide early dollars to 24 diverse technologies with the potential to remove carbon durably, affordable, and at scale. Alongside, she works to accelerate the development of the companies Frontier purchases from and builds initiatives to address gaps in the ecosystem.
Prior to joining Stripe, Joanna worked across supply chain decarbonization with Nike’s Global Sustainability team, climate innovation with early-stage startups, and strategy with BCG. She received her BS from Washington University in St. Louis and her MBA and MS in Environment and Resources from Stanford.

John Roos Founding Partner at Geodesic Capital Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan

■ Career

John V . Roos is a Founding Partner at Geodesic Capital. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at Salesforce, Inc., an advisor to the Toyota Research Institute, and a Senior Advisor at Centerview Partners, a preeminent mergers & acquisitions advisory firm. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and is an Advisory Board member at the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education. Previously, Ambassador Roos served as Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the leading law firm in the United States in the representation of technology, life sciences, and emerging growth companies. Additionally, he served on the Board of Directors at Sony Corporation, the Board of Directors at Rakuten, Group Inc., and the Global Advisory Board of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
From 2009-2013 Ambassador Roos served as the United States Ambassador to Japan. On August 6, 2010 he became the first sitting U.S. Ambassador ever to attend the commemoration ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. Ambassador Roos’ service in Tokyo coincided with the devastating 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis on March 11, 2011. Following this tragedy, Ambassador Roos led the American effort on the ground in support of Japan’s response to the multi-dimensional and unprecedented disaster. After the crisis, Ambassador Roos led the creation of the TOMODACHI initiative, a public-private partnership that has established more than 320 exchange programs. Ambassador Roos was awarded The U.S. State Department Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service, awarded annually to the individual selected from worldwide nominations as the most outstanding non-career United States Ambassador. In May 2022, he was recognized for his contributions and ongoing commitment to relations with Japan and was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, the highest honor to be given to a foreign national.
Ambassador Roos is a graduate with honors and distinction from Stanford University and from Stanford Law School where he was Order of the Coif.

Jonathan Ortmans President, Global Entrepreneurship Network

■ Career

Jonathan Ortmans is the founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), an organization with programs reaching 200 nations to support entrepreneurs and foster healthier entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Prior to GEN, Ortmans trained as an economist, worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, and served as CEO of a healthcare and trade policy thinktank. His career also includes two successful startup exits.
Ortmans oversees GEN’s grantmaking and has developed operations in research, policy, ecosystem building, and programs directly supporting entrepreneurs and investors. Ortmans also chairs the Global Entrepreneurship Congress and serves on the boards of dozens of entrepreneurial support organizations worldwide.

Laura Uuttu-Deschryvere Head of International Affairs City of Helsinki

■ Career

She works as the Head of International Affairs at the City of Helsinki. In her role she works as a special advisor to the mayor on international relations and builds strategic co-operation between Helsinki and cities around the world. She has many years of experience in working with international projects in private and public organizations.

Kanako InoueGeneral Partner, NEXTBLUE

■ Career

Kanako graduated from Keio University and worked in investment banking with GCA. After receiving her MBA from Kellogg School of Management in 2013, she joined BCG in Tokyo. At BCG she led projects related to new business development, M&A strategy, overseas expansion among others.
In 2016, Kanako joined D4V (Design 4 Ventures), a venture capital in partnership with IDEO, as founding member and portfolio director.
Established NEXTBLUE 1 fund in 2020 with Yuichi Kori and Vincent Tan, which invested in approximately 40 startups in Japan and Europe. NEXTBLUE 2 fund was established in 2023, specializing in women's wellbeing

Kazuchika IwataState Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

■ Career

Mr. IWATA Kazuchika was appointed State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry on September 15, 2023. In this key role, Mr. Iwata’s primary responsibility will be overseeing METI’s ongoing efforts to support the revitalization of Fukushima, and to promote the region’s Green Transformation.
Mr. Iwata joins METI from the House of Representatives, the lower house of Japan’s National Diet where he has represented constituents in the Kyushu region for more than a decade.
In 2022, he served as Chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Economy, Trade and Industry Subcommittee. While in 2021, Mr. Iwata served as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry at METI.
Before his appointments at METI, Mr. Iwata served on senior posts in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) including Chairperson, of Committee on Organizations Involved with Commerce, Industry and Medium and Small Sized Enterprises as well as Deputy Director, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Division. In 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense.
Earlier in his career as a publicly elected official, Mr. Iwata served as a member of the Saga Prefectural Assembly.
Prior to seeking national elected office, Mr. Iwata worked as a management consultant at the Ohmae & Associates Group.
Mr. Iwata is a graduate of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Law. He was born on September 20,1973 in Saga Prefecture in the Kyushu region of southern Japan.

Kazuhiro ObaraFuturist

■ Career

Kazuhiro Obara was born in 1970. He completed a master's in Artificial Intelligence at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University. He began his career at McKinsey & Company, followed by positions at Recruit Co., Google Japan, and Rakuten, where he served as an Executive Officer. Obara has also been a member of the Cabinet Office's New AI Strategy Review Committee and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Foreign Trade Policy Committee.

Kei ShimadaChief Business Officer / Innovative Space Carrier, Inc.

■ Career

Kei is a Japanese American entrepreneur, award-winning innovation leader, angel investor, co-founder of an AI stealth startup, and advisor overseeing 3 others in the area of Sleep, Metaverse and Outer Space. Most recently, he serves as the Chief Business Officer of Innovative Space Carrier where he and his team are building their own reusable space plane to provide space tours by 2040. He is recognized as one of Japan's foremost international keynote speakers, having spoken in approximately 40 countries. Kei also contributes as a pitch mentor for PlugandPlay, the world's largest accelerator.

Keiko SydenhamCo-Founder CEO of LUCA Japan Company, Limited

■ Career

Keiko has more than 20years career in comprehensive diverse strategies of Alternative investment. She had been engaged in hedge fund investment since 2000 before she joined US Investment firms as a product specialist /relationship manager for institutional investors responsible for strategy briefings, fundraising of alternative investment funds including private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and private credit. After serving as Head of Alternative Investment Strategy at JPMorgan Asset Management and Managing Director at Blackstone Group, she founded LUCA with other two founders as CEO in July 2021. She holds a Master's degree from Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

Ken ShibusawaChief Executive Officer, Shibusawa and Company, Inc.
Founder and Chairman, Commons Asset Management
Founder and CEO, &Capital, Inc.
Senior Advisor, Brunswick Group

■ Career

Ken Shibusawa founded in 2001, Shibusawa and Company, Inc., a strategic advisory firm for alternative investments, ESG/SDGs alignment and human resource development. He also founded in 2008, Commons Asset Management, a mutual fund dedicated to deliver long term investment opportunities to the Japanese household. In 2021, he joined Brunswick Group as senior advisor.
In 2022, he was named as board member of the newly founded International Foundation for Valuing Impact, as special advisor to the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Boards) chair. In 2023, he founded &Capital, Inc., an impact fund management company for Africa.
He is also co-chair of Global South-Africa Committee at Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), advisor to the Office of the President at the University of Tokyo, member of various government panels, including Prime Minister Kishida’s Council on New Capitalism, and a steering group member of UNDP SDG Impact.

Ken ShigematsuPrincipal at Laguarda.Low Architects
Founder at inspiring dots inc.

■ Career

With a focus on designing people’s experience and lifestyle, Ken has worked on diverse types of projects from master planning to architectural design of mixed-use projects in more than 25 countries around the world. Representative works include OCT BAY in Shenzhen, China, and Grandberry Park in Tokyo. Currently Ken is working on a redevelopment project in Shibuya and Nihonbashi, considering the new cityscape after the elevated highway above the Nihonbashi river relocated underground. In 2018, Ken launched “inspiring dots inc.” a multidisciplinary collaboration group, aiming to solve social issues with innovative tools including technology. The 2 signature visions Ken has for Tokyo are “Tokyo G-Line” and “Tokyo B-Line.” Both ideas envision revitalizing the existing urban infrastructure to stimulate the Tokyo economy and maximize the quality of life.

Kenjiro MurakamiFounder & CEO, Spectee Inc.

■ Career

Kenjiro Murakami is the founder of Spectee Inc, which is focusing on Disaster Prevention by using AI-based data analysis. Under his leadership, the company has experienced significant growth with 1000 public and enterprise customers in Japan. Before starting his business, he worked at Cisco Systems in partner business development. In 2011, while volunteering for disaster relief efforts after the Great East Japan Earthquake, he realized the vulnerability of information sharing from the disaster area. This experience made him to develop an information analysis service to convey information from the disaster area in real time. He was also in charge of business development for the internet business at a Sony subsidiary before joining Cisco Systems.

Kirstin Hunter Managing Director (NSW), Techstars

■ Career

Kirstin is the Managing Director (NSW) at Techstars - the world’s largest pre-seed investor. Kirstin is an experienced start-up and high-growth business executive with a focus on fintech businesses at the intersection of activism and capitalism: co-Founder and former CEO at Future Super, former executive at Brighte, founding chairperson at Ocean Impact Organisation and long-time mentor with Blackbird's Giants and Startmate programs. In her spare time Kirstin is on the board of Morphic Ethical Equities (ASX:MEC), a Vinemaker at Grapevine and parent to 9 year old Elizabeth.

Kiyoshi SekoDirector and COO at Kyoto Fusioneering

■ Career

Kiyo joined Kyoto Fusioneering in April 2021 as an Executive Officer. He is responsible for business development, fundraising, and also PR and marketing. Prior to joining KF, he worked for Mitsubishi Corporation for almost 10 years, where he was involved in business development and strategic investments, including for the establishment of overseas JVs and cross-border M&As. After obtaining his MBA, he worked for Coral Capital, a leading VC firm in Japan, where he made several investments – including one in Kyoto Fusioneering before joining the company – mainly in the deeptech area. Kiyoshi has an M.S in Applied Physics from University of Tokyo, as well as an MBA from IE Business School, Spain.

Ko MiyoshiChief Strategy Officer at TIER IV

■ Career

As Chief Strategy Officer, Ko Miyoshi in charge of the overall corporate strategy and business development at TIER IV. Before TIER IV, Ko worked in Mitsubishi Corporation leading business development of metro projects. He also has experience of M&A execution and PMI related projects at an investment firm.

Koichi SaitoFounder and General Partner at KK Fund

■ Career

Koichi is a Founder and General Partner of KK Fund, focusing on early-stage startup investments across Southeast Asia. He established KK Fund in 2015, capitalizing on Southeast Asia's burgeoning startup landscape and leveraging his extensive Japanese network. Prior, he directed IMJ Investment Partners' Southeast Asian portfolio, backing key startups like Bukalapak (Indonesia) and iMoney (Malaysia). Koichi's finance journey began at ORIX Group, leading to roles at Mitsubishi Morgan Stanley Securities and Ishin Hotels Group, a PE Fund established by Soros Investment Management.
He holds a Master of Business Administration at IE Business School in Spain, and a Master’s degree and a diploma in global strategy at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Koichiro TakaharaCEO of NearMe

■ Career

After graduating from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, I joined SAP Japan as a new graduate in 2001, where I worked on business reform projects both domestically and internationally. In 2012, I joined Rakuten, where I was involved in launching logistics businesses and served as the head of daily use items e-commerce. Subsequently, I held positions as director and CEO at American and French group companies. With a keen interest in utilizing Japan's regional resources, I founded NearMe, Inc. in 2017. Focusing particularly on the pressing issue of door-to-door transportation, we aim to achieve a society where people can continue to live in the neighborhoods they desire and we are expanding mobility services utilizing the sharing economy including MaaS (Mobility as a Service) and AI-driven solutions.

Kotaro AdachiTechShake Ptd. Ltd.
CEO & Co-Founder

■ Career

Kotaro Adachi is a Japanese entrepreneur based in the Philippines for over 12 years. He is currently involved in the management of several companies, including TechShake, AXIS Software Development, and Global Bridge Resources. Also, he is co-organizer of the IGNITE Conference, which is the biggest innovation conference based in the Philippines. Kotaro attained his MBA from IE Business School in Spain.

Kozue NakayamaCo-President of Future Center Alliance Japan

■ Career

After completing her Master's degree at Keio University's Graduate School of Sociology, she joined Nissan Motor Co. She later became Deputy Devision Head　of the Global Brand Coordination Bureau. She then joined the Yokohama City Government, where she has been Director General of the Yokohama City Culture and Tourism Bureau since 2012. From 2019, she is an external auditor of the Imperial Hotel, and in 2020, an external director of TDK Corporation and Isuzu Motors Limited.

Kuniaki Yamada Co-Representative Partner, Setouchi Startups

■ Career

Transferred from National Institute of Technology, Tsuyama College to the University of Tsukuba. After graduating from Kyoto University Law School, he worked as a lawyer at a startup law firm. He is engaged in contract work related to intellectual property and financing. Later, he joined Akatsuki Co., Ltd. He contributed to the company's listing by setting up the management department and overseeing IPO operations.
After returning to Okayama Prefecture, he started the creators’ partner company Shiroshi Inc. He also started education related business “Ichiziku High School” and “Setouchi Startups”, a VC specializing in Setouchi area.

Kunihiko OnoSakanotochu Ltd.

■ Career

Born in Nara, Japan in 1983. After graduating from Kyoto University, he worked in derivative structuring at BNP Paribas.
In 2009, he founded Sakanotochu Ltd. and became its president.

Kyo NomuraCEO of DENSHINDO Inc.

■ Career

I learned the art of manufacturing at a major beauty equipment manufacturer and contributed to the creation of numerous highly successful beauty devices as a project leader. Leading the team, I achieved results in entering the Chinese market, culminating in winning the President's Award in 2016 before leaving the company. After obtaining an MBA from Globis Graduate School of Management, I founded DENSHINDO.

Wui Liang HengGroup Head, BLOCK71, NUS Enterprise

■ Career

Wui Liang is an experienced business leader passionate about leveraging technology to solve business needs. He has a track record in leading regional multi-disciplinary programs in fintech, banking and insurance. A builder at heart, he has grown ideas from scratch into businesses. Having started 2 companies and helping a Series C company expand regionally, he is now focused on supporting the startup ecosystem at BLOCK71, NUS Enterprise.

Leanne RobersCo-Founder of She Loves Tech

■ Career

Leanne Robers is the Co-Founder of She Loves Tech, the world’s largest startup competition and accelerator program for women-led and women-impact tech startups. Now operating in 76 countries, She Loves Tech is committed to building an ecosystem for technology, entrepreneurship and innovation that creates opportunities for women and closes the gender gap in startup funding. Since its founding in 2015, more than 15,000 startups have gone through SLT and have gone on to raise more than USD$400M. She Loves Tech aims to unlock USD1b in funding for its startups by 2030. An active presence in the startup community, Leanne is also a mentor for the Singapore Tourism Board tech accelerator program and previously for the Facebook Community Accelerator Program. In 2019, Leanne was selected as an Obama Leader (Asia Pacific) and was awarded the Booking.com’s Tech Playmaker of the year award and Champion of Change award 2020. Leanne is also a Microsoft Regional Director, a program where Microsoft selects 200 of the world’s top thought leaders to advise and be a Key Opinion Leader to the Microsoft network. She was also named Singapore's Top 100 Women In Technology by the Singapore government in their inaugural list and Prestige Magazine’s Women of Power 2022 and 40 under 40 list 2021. Most recently, she was awarded the Woman of the Year special award, presented by Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II in Monaco. Trained in Psychology, Leanne specializes in helping leaders thrive during challenging times by building the resilience, agility and the ability to seize opportunities amid adversity by using techniques derived from neuroscience and psychology. Leanne has founded a diverse portfolio of businesses, including Comish (an art x technology platform), a fintech service platform in New York and a lifestyle company that built and managed boutique hotels and F&B outlets in SEA. Prior to her startup journey, she worked at corporates in the UK and across SEA covering a variety of roles, including business development, consulting and leadership. She holds a BS in Psychology, and she was awarded the Paul J. Korshin Award for Excellence and Entrepreneurship from the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her MSc in Leadership and Management.

Lina Sakai Fermenstation Co., Ltd. CEO

■ Career

Lina holds a degree from the Department of Brewing and Fermentation Science at the Tokyo University of Agriculture. She has also graduated from the International Christian University. Prior to establishing Fermenstation, she worked at the Fuji Bank, Ltd. (currently, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd.) and Deutsche Securities Inc.
Lina’s achievements include VIVA Technology 2022 Japan X France Startup Pitch Winner, Japan X France Startup Pitch Winner etc.

Lionel Wong Executive Director of Gprnt.ai

■ Career

Lionel Wong is the Executive Director of Gprnt.ai, an initiative by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to establish an integrated digital platform capable of harnessing technology to simplify the collection, access and use of ESG data to support the financial sector’s and real economy’s net zero transition efforts. Gprnt.ai is the culmination of MAS’ Project Greenprint. The project was spearheaded by the MAS Green Fintech Office, which Lionel concurrently heads.

Maija Itkonen CEO & Co-Founder of Onego Bio

■ Career

Maija is a designer, innovator, third time founder who has built and exited two tech companies – and one of the pioneers in the alternative protein field. Currently she’s acting as CEO and Co-Founder of Onego Bio, a food-biotech company producing egg proteins via precision fermentation.

Maija has a passion for creating a more sustainable food system with protein sources that are delicious, nutritious and have minimal impact on the environment. As a leader in the alternative protein industry she has been featured in Forbes, Food Navigator, Food Technology and Fast Company, to name a few. Maija has a Master of Art degree from Aalto University (Finland), School of Design and Architecture, department of Industrial and Strategic Design, and another degree from Aalto University School of Business, International Design Business Management program.

Makoto AouProfessor, Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Musashino University
Representative Director of LEO Co., Ltd.

■ Career

After working in software development as an engineer, she launched an in-house venture at Pasona Group and worked on a business specializing in web application development. Appointed as the first female executive of TECH Company, worked as an intrapreneur to spin off the company's web service business and lead the industry-government-academia collaboration startup promotion project.
2016: Founded ExaIntelligence Co., Ltd. (currently ExaWizards Co., Ltd.), an AI venture from Kansai. After serving as Director and COO, established LEO Co., Ltd. as the second company. Co-creation space ~ CO CREATION SPACE ~ AOU no MORI (Komono Town, Mie Prefecture) will open in April 2021, and NAGONO WORK BAR & SAUNA (Nishi Ward, Nagoya City) will open in June 2022. Nagono Campus Planning and Management Producer, Nagoya University Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Visiting Associate Professor, etc.

Marc Ortmans Cofounder and Chair, Global Entrepreneurship Network UK

■ Career

Marc is an entrepreneurship and net zero innovation champion. As GEN UK Chair he drives ecosystem building through GEN UK HUB community platform, hosting GEW UK, Startup Planet, Restart Ukraine, and xporter programmes. Marc leads Startup Planet an annual conference bringing together net zero entrepreneurs, policy makers and investors to encourage adoption of sustainability solutions through collaboration. Startup Planet takes place during Global Entrepreneurship Week and COP meetings. In 2023 he cofounded LeZero Innovation Prize, a global net zero startup competition for COP28, and LeZero zero carbon EV events. In addition to his role as GEN UK Chair, he consults on brand communications. Marc has worked across the media and start and scale industries as a Founder, CEO, Director, Strategist and Creative Director. He has founded several ventures and managed projects for global brands such as CNN, Heineken, SAB, Continental and Formula One. Marc has been described as a creative with a business brain, and as a result blends creative, marketing and management. Marc helped launch UEFA Champions League, First Direct bank, the Homeless World Cup, and created the first UK satellite brand in UK, Satellite TV, bought by Murdoch and renamed Sky. Along the way he has picked up a shelf load of awards including GEN Compass, BAFTA, D&AD, Promax, BDA, Paris Citi and New York Festivals.

Marc Penzel Founder & President of Startup Genome

■ Career

Marc is the Founder & President of Startup Genome, and leads global growth and impact. He advises governments, scientific organizations and venture backed startups alike and is an appointed Expert in Entrepreneurship, IT and Future of Economic Progress by the World Economic Forum.
Prior to founding Startup Genome, he co-led the startup ecosystem development unit at Silicon Valley-based Startup Compass (acquired by Sage). At PwC, KPMG, and Bayer Group’s internal management consultancy, Marc advised business executives across various sectors. He also founded a nonprofit organization to catalyze social innovation.

Marek KiisaManaging Partner at NordicNinja VC

■ Career

Marek has 20 years of experience as a VC investor with NordicNinja, and other funds and individual investments. He has co-founded and/or managed six companies across telecommunications, data-driven manufacturing, and cloud computing. He led three of them to profitable exits, and all six are still active. Marek’s main focus areas are Future Mobility and AI, i.e. Einride, Kognic, and Pactum. He is also a Kauffman Fellow, the world’s largest VC education institution, with a worldwide network. He is also a former formula factory test driver. Trained as a mechanical engineer in Machine Design & Combustion Engineering; MSc from KTH.

Mari YaoKnowledge Leader of Technovate Facalty Group of GLOBIS Corporation

■ Career

As a knowledge leader at Globis Corporation, which holds Japan's largest business school, disseminating the transformative trends brought about by technology. In addition to developing special courses beyond existing disciplines of business, contributing
to the media, including a series for Diamond Online. She's also pursuing research at Juntendo University’s Graduate School of Medicine to enhance health literacy in the era of 100-year lifespans.

Mariko NishikawaCPO of YOUR MEAL Co., Ltd.

■ Career

After graduating from Kwansei Gakuin University, I worked as a sales representative for a major GMS and cosmetics manufacturer at a textile manufacturer, planning and managing the production of clothing and miscellaneous goods. Founded ASOBIBA Co., Ltd. in 2013 to launch and operate entertainment facilities. After that, I changed jobs to a consulting company and supported major companies in launching new businesses and in-house venture systems. Founded Muscle Deli Co., Ltd.
(currently YOUR MEAL Co., Ltd.) in 2016. I provide meal services for people who want to lose weight or shape their bodies. In 2023, it became a subsidiary through M&A with DM Mitsui Sugar Co., Ltd. The COO at the time has become the representative director, and as the CPO, I am responsible for product development, production management, and new business development, while supporting entrepreneurs and making angel investments.

Marwan Elfitesse Head of Startup Programs and Business services at STATION F

■ Career

Marwan Elfitesse is part of STATION F first team and is the Head of Startup Programs and Business services at STATION F, overseeing all 30 programs for the campus including the Founders, Fighters Programs as well as STATION F's partnerships and business development. Prior to STATION F, he was active in the tech industry, with experience at Nimbula in California and Microsoft in France.

Masahiro Ito Director, President & CEO of PowerX

■ Career

Masa launched his first company Yappa at just 17 years old. In 2014, Masa joined ZOZO Group through M&A and served as the CEO of ZOZO Technologies. Later, Masa was appointed as the Board member and COO of ZOZO, which is now well-known for his many innovative inventions, including 3D body measuring devices such as ZOZOSUIT and ZOZOMAT.

Masako WakamiyaIT Evangelist
Founder of Excel Art

■ Career

・Born April 19, 1935
・After graduating from high school, I worked at Mitsubishi Bank (currently Mitsubishi UFJ Bank) until retirement.
・2017 Game app “hinadan” released.
As a result, I was specially invited to WWDC by the CEO of Apple Inc.
・In 2018, I spoke at an event organized by the UN Committee for Social Development.
The current
・Director of Mellow club General Incorporated Association
・Teacher at Nechu Elementary School.
・Member of the Council for the Realization of the Digital Garden City Nation Concept Sponsored by Prime Minister Kishida
I also serves on several other government committees.
・Books: “Becoming a different person from yesterday” and others

Masaru IkedaCo-founder / Senior Editor, Bridge

■ Career

Masaru Ikeda currently acts as co-founder of The Bridge, one of Japan’s leading media outlets covering the startup scene in Japan and the rest of the world. He started his career as a programmer/engineer, and previously co-founded several system integration and consulting firms. He’s been traveling around the world exploring prominent startups.

Masato NakamuraGLIN Impact Capital Founding Partner

■ Career

Founding Partner of GLIN Impact Capital, which is a first-generation impact/ESG investing fund in Japan. Masato started his career at Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan where he established new businesses in developing countries (Indonesia), considered investing in high-growth startups, developed AI and IoT initiatives, and spearheaded digital transformation projects. While studying at Harvard Business School, he served as the President of the Impact Investment Club and worked for the Acumen Fund. Harvard Business School MBA class of 2020. Global Impact Investing Network(GIIN) VC Knowledge Hub Advisory Committee.

Masato Tanakai Senior Director, Business Development & PR
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
JETRO Singapore

■ Career

Since joining Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), he has been involved in the global expansion of 300+ Japanese startups and has produced the Japanese government pavilion at global conferences such as CES, web summit and Innovfest. He is a founding member of the "J-Startup" project, an intensive public-private sector support program for startups, and has been working in his current position since October 2020 as an ecosystem builder between Singapore and Japan.

Masayuki KimuraDeloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support COO / Partner
Deloitte Private Asia Pacific, Emerging Growth Leader

■ Career

He co-founded Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support as a second venture, expanding it to a team of 200 across five global locations and successfully devising business plans for over 200 companies annually, resulting in 15 successful financings. He provides consulting services for new business development through open innovation and supports the establishment and operation of corporate venture capital (CVC). In 2015, he opened an office in Silicon Valley and has since been driving collaboration and digital strategy formulation for automotive-related companies, insurance companies, financial institutions, and major home appliance companies with Silicon Valley startups.
He is a member of D-Lab, which disseminates information on Silicon Valley sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and is invited as an expert to the Future Innovation WG established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, among other activities.

＜Lectures and Writings＞

・Special lectures at Automotive World 2019, De-Carbon Expo 2023, Wearable Expo 2022,2019-2017, AIConference2017, and
・Special Speaker at Nikkei SDGs Forum Special Symposium "Toward a Carbon Neutral Future with the Green Innovation Fund. Special Lecture at Mobility X
・Mobility X, Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.
・The Geopolitics of Technology (Next Generation Mobility Silicon Valley), Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.
・Silicon Valley D-Lab Project (Vol. 1 - 4)", Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Total DL: over 300,000)
・Handbook of Public Offerings" Chuokeizai-sha, "Practical Financial Statement Analysis" Chuokeizai-sha
・Geopolitics of Technology (Next Generation Mobility Silicon Valley)" Nikkei Business Publications, Inc.
・A Guide to Successful Global CVC Activities, NEDO
・TMT Prediction 2021 "Tech Giant" and "Online Medical Practice" Deloitte, TMT Prediction 2022 "Semiconductor Industry Trends" Deloitte
・Deloitte report "Innovation Strategies in the With Corona Era" and "Business Transformation Innovation Strategies in a COVID-19 Environment.

Michael JacksonVenture Partner, Wilbe | Home for Scientist Leaders

■ Career

Michael is a successfully exited deeptech entrepreneur turned investor with nearly 20 years spent in venture capital on both sides of the Atlantic. Named by the Telegraph as one of the most influential tech investors in Europe, he started his venture career at Morgenthaler in Silicon Valley before moving onto Advent in London. He’s invested in hundreds of tech companies and more than 40 funds, and has had several $1B+ exits. He currently sits on the boards and ICs of several deeptech focused VC firms, advises the Dutch government on deeptech policy, and is on the deeptech advisory council for the University of Oxford.

Mihoko ShintaniPartner Lawyer, TMI Associates／Founding Director, Space Port Japan Association

■ Career

Ms. Shintani became a registered attorney in 2006 as a member of the TMI Associates law firm. She particularly possesses expertise in aerospace industry, intellectual property rights, IT and communications matters, business startups, and risk management. In 2013 Ms. Shintani matriculated at Columbia Law School in New York and upon graduation she has led a wide range of cases for multiple clients in the aerospace industry, including major disputes between private companies, space venture investment, and space business transactions.

Miki Nonaka-Kinoshita Scientific Finder Lead, Business Development & Licensing, Bayer Yakuhin, Ltd.

■ Career

B.A. and M.Sc. degrees from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University. Ph.D. from the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Dr. Kinoshita has experience in drug discovery research at Pfizer and Astellas Pharma Inc., focusing on the early stages of the drug discovery process, namely the development of drug seeds (small molecules, antibodies, and cell and gene therapies). After transitioning to the Open Innovation Promotion Division, Dr. Kinoshita fostered collaboration with academia and drug discovery startups to revitalize Japan's life science ecosystem. Currently, at Bayer, Dr. Kinoshita continues to promote open innovation while also supporting Japanese drug discovery startups in their global expansion through operating incubation labs and organizing acceleration programs.

Mio AsataniCEO at Curina, Inc.

■ Career

Mio is the CEO and founder of Curina, a fine art rental subscription company for the next generation art collectors and artists. She founded the company while studying for MBA at Columbia Business School and discovered how difficult it is to find artists you like and afford artworks as a first-time buyer. Curina now also offers art advisory services to help clients manage their art collections and her clients include Amazon Prime, Suntory, and Paramount Pictures. Prior to founding Curina, she worked as a management consultant at Deloitte and graduated from Tokyo University.

Miori SagaraPresident & CEO BAOBAB Inc.

■ Career

Established Baobab in 2010. Baobab is developing a business that creates new employment opportunities by contracting the creation of training data from companies and research institutes engaged in AI development, and training and outsourcing the work to people with limited working styles.
Despite Baobab being a diverse organization where all employees work remotely, have created an environment where they can work with a high level of psychological safety, and currently provide the world's highest quality AI training data with + 1,200 annotators in Japan and globally.
In 2023, Baobab was selected for the "J-Startup Impact" program by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and is participating in the research and development of domestically produced generative AI models.
Resident in Hokkaido since 2020.

Miwa Seki General Partner, MPower Partners Fund L.P.

■ Career

Miwa is a founding partner of MPower Partners, Japan's first ESG focused venture capital fund. She is a former Japanese growth equity portfolio manager with Clay Finlay, and she previously worked in investment banking for Morgan Stanley. She has translated over 50 business/entrepreneurship publications.Miwa earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Keio University.

Miwa Tanaka Co-CEO/Co-Founder, Waris, Inc.

■ Career

After working as an editor and writer for Nikkei Woman magazine at Nikkei BP, I became a freelancer with a passion for empowering women to continue thriving careers. Leveraging my experience as a freelance writer, editor, and career counselor, I co-founded Waris Inc. in 2013. Waris is a human resource service company dedicated to creating diverse lifestyle and workstyle opportunities. Since then, we've connected over 2,000 women with flexible work arrangements like remote and freelance positions. Recently, we've expanded our services to support women's career development through reskilling initiatives and by introducing qualified female candidates for executive positions. In 2023, Waris joined the Benesse Group, marking a significant milestone in our 10th year. We are honored to have received the Excellent Prize in the 3rd DBJ Women's New Business Plan Competition. Additionally, Waris participated in the 1st cohort of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's "ASAC Acceleration Program" and the 4th cohort of "APT Women."

Mizuki KishihataWith Midwife,Inc. CEO
Osaka Business Development Agency
Women Entrepreneurs Support Project "DISCOVER MYSELF"
Community Manager

■ Career

Born in 1991. After battling an illness at the age of 14, she decided to become a midwife and joined Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine. After graduating, she gained clinical experience at a general hospital that conducts about 3000 births a year, and founded With Midwife Co., Ltd. in 2019. She developed ‘The CARE' a health and child rearing employee support program that comprehensively supports active participation of women and health management as they contribute to human capital management, and introduced it to large corporations such as ITOCHU Corporation and Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. In addition to her clinical and managerial work, she also serves as an expert on the Children and Families Agency’s outline study group, and as a project manager for a support project for women entrepreneurs in the Kansai Area.

Moogwi Kim Director, Minerva University Japan
ESG Expert, PHD student at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Management

■ Career

Moogwi Kim resaearches Sustainability Finance at the PHD Program of Kyoto University, interviewing top management teams of various financial institutions. Mr. Kim has extensive career experience in the financial industry, having worked at Unison Capital, Fidelity Investments, UBS Investment Bank, and private equity funds in Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr. Kim is also an advisor to Minerva University, a leading international university reputed in the area of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability education. He is known as an author of several best-selling books. He graduated from Keio University and holds MBA from INSEAD.

Naohiro Nishiguchi Global Entrepreneurship Network (Managing Director, Japan)
President of Startup Genome Japan K.K.

■ Career

Serial entrepreneur / Global Entrepreneurship Network (Managing Director, Japan), President of Startup Genome Japan K.K., President of Japan Bosai Platform, Professor at Sophia University. Naohiro Nishiguchi has served in several positions including the World Bank Group officer, Worldwide Partner of Mercer, and Executive Managing Director of the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan before assuming his current positions. His passion is to revitalize Japanese society both by spreading innovation management to existing companies and by maturing a startup ecosystem. He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Sophia University and an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He is an Innovation Management Professional certified by the Swedish National Institute (RISE).

Naoto Kato Cluster, Inc. CEO

■ Career

Kato researched Cosmology and Quantum Computers at Kyoto University Faculty of Science. After dropping out of graduate school, he spent about three years as a recluse. In 2015, he founded a startup, "Cluster" which made full use of VR technology. In 2017, the VR platform "CLUSTER", which can host large-scale virtual events, was released. Currently, it has evolved not only regarding events, but also as a metaverse platform where users can gather with friends and post online games with their favorite avatars. In 2018, he was elected "30 UNDER 30 JAPAN" in the business magazine "Forbes JAPAN". Additionally, he was selected as one of the top 20 of the 2022 "Japanese Entrepreneur Ranking 2023". He has authored "Metaverse Good Bye to the Age of Atom" (Shueisha/2022)

Naoyoshi Goto Journalist (New York Bureau)NewsPicks

■ Career

Naoyoshi Goto is a journalist / columnist focused on climate tech and sustainability issues at NewsPicks. He is always passionate about telling stories about those who build a new solution with their bare hands. He is the co-host of Green Business, which is a popular podcast show on climate tech in Japan, and leading a researching program on climate investments at Waseda University Business School. On his day off, he plays African drums and Yoga to restore his energy.

Narimasa Makino CEO Monozukuri Ventures

■ Career

Narimasa Makino is a seasoned venture capitalist with 19 years of experience working with various successful international entrepreneurs. He was a co-founder and CEO of Monozukuri Ventures, a Kyoto-based venture capital with technical consultants that focused on hardware startups. He launched Makers Boot Camp, a hardware acceleration program and co-founded MBC Shisaku Fund I, the first Japanese venture fund of 2 billion yen that invests only in hardware companies in the US and Japan.

Nick Sugimoto Honda Innovations Co., Ltd. CEO

■ Career

Nick Sugimoto is the CEO of Honda Innovations, Co., Ltd. (www.hondainnovations.com), the global open innovation HQ of Honda based in Tokyo, Japan. Nick also serves as Chairman of Honda Innovations Silicon Valley, Inc. based in Mountain View, CA. Nick oversees Honda’s advanced technology partnership projects, as well as strategic investment program called ‘Honda Xcelerator Ventures’ on global basis. Prior to joining Honda, Nick was a successful entrepreneur as well as venture investor in both the US and Japan. Nick received his engineering degree from the University of Tokyo and MBA from Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

Niko Suzuki Deloitte Private / Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd.
M&A Advisory Leader

■ Career

Specializes in startup M&A. Was responsible for the management reconstruction and new business development of companies affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and worked hard for their recovery and revitalization. At Deloitte, he is responsible for all M&A processes —strategy planning, origination, execution, and closing—and work closely with entrepreneurs at all stages to ensure successful M&A through detailed planning and execution tailored to the entrepreneur. Further he supports all entrepreneurs to succeed in the market regardless of industry or phase of the company. That includes providing advice on optimizing business models, building strategic alliances, and capital policy and financing.

Norichika Kanie Professor at Keio University,
Graduate School of Media and Governance.

■ Career

Professor at the Graduate School of Media Governance at Keio University in Japan. He is also the Representative of the xSDG Laboratory at the SFC Research Institute within the same university. Before joining Keio University, he worked at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Kitakyushu. He has also been a Marie Curie Incoming International Fellow of the European Commission. He serves on various committees and steering groups, including being a member of the SDGs Promotion Roundtable Meeting established by the Japanese government under the SDGs Promotion Headquarters. Additionally, he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as one of fifteen independent scientists tasked with preparing the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report which was published in September 2023.

Noriya Tarutani Deputy Director-General, Innovation Department, JETRO
Head of JETRO Startup

■ Career

Noriya Tarutani is the Deputy Director-General at Japan External Trade Organization, JETRO Innovation Department, supervising and overseeing the JETRO startup program. With over 20+ years of experience in startups and international business including 10 years' experience in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Toronto. Noriya has played a pivotal role in assisting more than 500 Japanese companies in expanding their operations across the globe.
He has initiated the J-Startup program to showcase Japanese innovation at conference like CES and TechCrunch Disrupt SF. Noriya has also facilitated partnerships with top tier accelerators such as Berkeley SkyDeck, Alchemist, and Techstars, providing startups access world-class resources, mentorship, and funding, empowering them to accelerate their growth and achieve remarkable milestones.

Noriyuki Yoshida Senior writer Digital Production Dpt. The Yomiuri Shimbun

■ Career

Noriyuki Yoshida started his career as a news reporter in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1991. After being assigned to the science department in 1997, he covered Physics, nanotechnology, robotics, AI, environment, and science policies. From 2014 to 2015, he studied digital journalism at New York University in the U.S. Coming back to Tokyo he served as an editorial writer on science and environment. Since 2020, he has been in charge of digital publishing, data visualization, and data journalism in the current department. He has authored books on robots, ubiquitous computing, nanotechnology, and others.

Oranuch LerdsuwankijCEO and Co-founder of Techsauce

■ Career

Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, also known as Mimee, is the CEO and Co-founder of Techsauce, the prominent technology and innovation ecosystem builder in Thailand. Techsauce is renowned for organizing the largest technology conference in Southeast Asia, called Techsauce Global Summit (https://summit.techsauce.co/).
She has a strong purpose to drive Thailand as the digital gateway of Southeast Asia. In the role of a tech ecosystem builder, she is committed to creating a platform for opportunities that will attract more investment into the country and enhance the capabilities of Thai organizations, especially startups, to go international. This involves various processes, including connecting the Thai tech ecosystem with the international ecosystem, transferring knowledge in both online and offline formats, creating business opportunities through regional tech event platforms, assisting in transforming businesses to create new S-curves, and ultimately developing the skills of the new generation.
In addition to her role at Techsauce, she serves as the General Partner at VentureBridge VC fund and is a co-founder of Thailand Accelerator. Her significant contributions have solidified her reputation as a key influencer in shaping the Thai tech startup industry.
Furthermore, Oranuch is a board member at Thailand’s National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC). Oranuch is one of Thailand’s leading women with expertise in technology, besides her success in the technology industry, she is also interested in expanding the opportunity to bring technology to help society as useful as possible especially among vulnerable people like refugees children, women, the elderly or refugees with disabilities.

Oscar Barranco LiebanaDirector of the Integrated Operations Platform for Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy

■ Career

As Director of the Integrated Operations Platform for Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Oscar led and orchestrated one of the 2022 FIFA World Cup’s technological marvels: a unified augmented intelligence platform that optimize everything from fan experiences to critical tournament operations from the National Command Center.
For the past ten years, Oscar has been on a mission to turn the 2022 FIFA World Cup into an innovation spectacle. He spearheaded the tournament innovation portfolio, tackling unique innovation challenges with a blend of cutting-edge management techniques and a vibrant national innovation system at his back.
He helped transform Qatar with world-class smart cities applications, seamless smart mobility, digitalization of critical operations, phygital fan experiences and hyper-connected smart tourism powered by the latest technologies as AI, computer vision, mixed reality, ML, NLP or big data, amongst others. He enabled innovation through the creation of the Qatar Innovation Community, a national innovation accelerator leveraging on effective public and private collaborations.
Oscar has over 24 years of experience in innovation, technology and strategy across different industries and executive roles. Previously, he worked in Germany as European R&D Project Director in the aerospace, MEMs, nanotechnology or automotive industries. As Innovation Director in the Spanish government, he created and developed multi-billion strategies to build and accelerate regional innovation systems. He was Managing Director of a Spanish innovation and strategy management consultancy and founder of several technology start-ups.
He has a Global Executive MBA with honors from IE Business School, MSc Microsystems & Mechanical Engineering, MIT REAP, member of Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society and is an expert meditator.

Patrick Akivaga Analo Acting Nairobi County Secretary and Chief Officer, Urban Planning

■ Career

Patrick Analo is a leader with over 30 years of experience in urban development, strategic management, and local government reform. As the Acting County Secretary for Nairobi, he is spearheading policy formulation, organizational streamlining, and improvement of urban infrastructure.

Paul MclnerneyGeneral Partner at Incubate Fund

■ Career

Paul joined Recruit Co., Ltd. in 1997 and co-led digital business building and corporate venture capital investing efforts. While at Recruit, Paul was also a founding member of Golfport (an online golf reservation site) – subsequently sold to Rakuten in 2002.
He joined McKinsey & Company’s Tokyo Office in 2002, was elected Partner in 2007 and Senior Partner in 2014. He supported clients in the retail, consumer products, media, telecommunications, finance, and pharmaceutical industries with growth strategy, digital and AI, branding, marketing, and M&A.
He has served as head of the Asia Pacific Marketing & Sales Group, head of the Asia Pacific Analytics Group, head of the Asia Pacific Consumer Goods & Small Business Group, and Managing Partner of QuantumBlack Japan Paul joined Incubate Fund as a General Partner in March 2021.

Peter VesterbackaFounder of Finest Bay Area

■ Career

Peter Vesterbacka is an entrepreneur from the Finest Bay Area, based in Helsinki, Finland. Branded communities co-created and initiated by Peter include the HP Bazaar, Mobile Monday, Slush and Startup Sauna to name a few. He was the Mighty Eagle at Angry Birds for many years taking that brand to unprecedented heights. Peter is also currently adjunct professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Tongji University, one of the leading universities in China. In 2011 Time Magazine named Peter one of the 100 most influential people on the planet.

Petri AlavaCo-founder & CEO of Infintied Fiber Company

■ Career

Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, Member of the Management Team, 2016–
Master of Science in Industrial Engineering
Finnish citizen
Key work experience
• Chief Executive Officer of Solid Environmental Technologies Oy between 2016 and 2022
• Chief Executive Officer of Kekkilä Oyj between 2005 and 2015
• Business Area Director (Garden & Environment) at Vapo Oy between 2007 and 2009
• Chief Executive Officer of Rocla Robotruck Oy between 2001 and 2005
Key positions of trust
• Chairman of the Board of Directors of Profon Oy since 2015
• Chairman of the Board of Directors of Suomen Viljava Oy between 2015 and 2022
• Chairman of the Board of Directors of Terassi Media Oy since 2010

Ravi BelaniManaging Director & CEO of Alchemist Accelerator

■ Career

Ravi Belani is the Founder and CEO of Alchemist Accelerator, and Fenwick & West Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at Stanford University. Alchemist is a leading enterprise seed accelerator funded by over 20 marquee backers including BASF, DFJ, GE, Johnson Controls, NEC, Khosla Ventures, Mayfield and Salesforce.
Ravi spent six years as part of the investment team at Draper Fisher Jurvetson's Menlo Park global headquarters. Through Alchemist and DFJ, Ravi has been the first investor in 3 unicorns: LaunchDarkly, Pubmatic, and Rigetti Quantum Computing.
Ravi worked in product management at two Kleiner Perkins enterprise startups, and as a consultant in McKinsey and Company's San Francisco office. Ravi graduated from Stanford with a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering. Ravi also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Ren UechiCEO at Solafune, Inc.

■ Career

Ren Uechi is a founder and CEO of Solafune, Inc. building satellite data analysis technologies with the mission of "Hack The Planet." He studied Applied Mathematics at University of California, Berkeley. During his studies, he worked as a software engineer and data engineer primarily in startups, from seed to later stages. In 2019, he joined ABBALab, a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early-stage startups, focusing on the IoT sector, as an associate. In 2020, He founded Solafune and served as the CEO. The satellite data analysis platform “Solafune” is now used in over 80 countries worldwide. He was selected for Forbes Japan 30 UNDER 30 in 2023 and received the Deep Tech Venture of the Year 2023 Japan award.

Reyna YamamotoHupro,inc Founder,CEO

■ Career

Reyna Yamamoto has graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Law. Nominated as Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia, and EY Winning Women 2021 Finalist.
She spent 18 years living abroad, spending time in more than 5 different countries until high school.
She founded Hupro in November 2015, during her senior year at University, to provide a platform for all those involved in the professional management department to solve their problems, inspired by her experience of winning multiple business contests during her university life.
As of 2024, with the business philosophy of "making the professional management department a global standard," the company operates Hupro, a job media for all those involved in the professional management department. Hupro boasts the largest number of jobs and users in the industry.

Ronald Cohen President of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG)

■ Career

Sir Ronald Cohen is co-founder President of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG), co-founder Chair of The Portland Trust, and the recently-created International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI). He is also a former co-founder Chair of Bridges Fund Management, Big Society Capital, and Impact Weighted Accounts (IWA) at Harvard Business School and a co-founder Director of Social Finance UK, USA, and Israel.

Ryo Iwamoto Founder&CEO, TeaRoom Inc. / Tea Professor, Urasenke Tea House

■ Career

Iwamoto graduated from Waseda University majoring in Political Science and Economics. Having cultivated his expertise in the art of Japanese tea ceremony in the Urasenke Tea Association since childhood, he now carries the honorific tea name “Souryo Iwamoto” and is active as a professor. At the age of 21, he founded the company TeaRoom. In an effort to address the structural challenges within the tea industry, he acquired multiple factories and tea gardens across Japan to have a vertically integrated model spanning from tea cultivation to distribution. This led him to establish a corporation known as THE CRAFT FARM, recognized as an agricultural land-owning entity. Awarded as Forbes JAPAN 30 UNDER 30 2022, Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2023, Global Shapers at the World Economic Forum. Holding the role of executive director at Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten Co., Ltd. and representative chairperson at Cultural Capital Lab, further attesting to his multifaceted achievements on a global scale.

Ryo Kobayashi Vice President of Hamano Products Co., Ltd.
Chief Project Manager of Garage Sumida

■ Career

At the university, he belonged a seminar group related to small and medium-sized enterprises research and had the opportunity to visit techno center in Shenzhen, China, as an intern where he got an immense impact. After graduating, he briefly worked in the entertainment industry, and then joined Hamano Seisakusho in 2012, which he met during his student days. In 2014, he launched Garage Sumida, a manufacturing experiment workshop on the premises of a small factory, and despite competition faced by the deep tech startups, he continued his activities wand went on to win the 7th Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Prize from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award in the ”Manufacturing + Category'”. While immersed in the culture of small factories with a unique bitterness, he strives to create new things every day. He currently serves as the company's executive vice president.

Ryosuke Takashima Mayor of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture

■ Career

Born in Osaka in 1997, Ryosuke graduated from Harvard College with an A.B. in Environmental Science and Engineering and a minor in Environmental Science and Public Policy.
From 2016 to 2023, he served as the President of the educational non-profit Ryu-fellow, which focuses on nurturing future leaders capable of addressing global challenges. He has contributed to reforming Japanese high school education and supported proactive high school students aspiring for higher education abroad.
In April 2023, Ryosuke was elected Mayor of Ashiya City, Hyogo, becoming the youngest mayor in Japanese history in May. He is dedicated to reforming public education and engaging in community development centered around dialogue with a broad spectrum of ages, particularly emphasizing the youth.

Ryosuke Ushida Chief Fintech Officer, Financial Services Agency of Japan

■ Career

Ryosuke leads initiatives related to digital innovation in financial sector as Chief FinTech Officer of the JFSA. He also serves as the Co-chair of Virtual Asset Task Force, FATF. Prior to his current position, he has conducted a research on regulatory framework and governance mechanism in decentralized financial system as the Senior Fellow of Cyber SMART research center at Georgetown University from July 2019 to June 2021. He holds a Masters in Finance from London Business School.

Ryota Yamada Section Chief of GX Investment Promotion Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

■ Career

Ryota Yamada joined the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 2021. He engaged in overall coordination of environmental policies, formulation and compilation of various strategies such as Clean Energy Strategy, and international negotiations.
Currently, at the GX Investment Promotion Office, he is in charge of policy planning for social implementation and market creation of carbon dioxide removal (CDR), including institutional design for the creation of DAC industry (at DAC working group), and management of the Green Innovation Fund "Development of Technology for CO2 Separation, Capture" project.

Ryutaro OkadaJapan Deep Learning Association Executive Director

■ Career

Born 1974 in Tokyo. He started his business while attending Keio University. After selling the business, he established a series of operating companies and co-founded ABEJA Co., Ltd. in 2012. He established the management office of Infinity Ventures Summit, a community event for IT executives, and became the executive director. In 2017, he established the Japan Deep Learning Association, a general incorporated association, with the aim of promoting the industrial use of deep learning, and became the executive director. From 2023, he will be Managing Director. In 2019, we formed an executive committee and held the National College of Technology Deep Learning Contest. As a community organizer, he is involved in creating numerous spaces.

Saemin AhnPartner at 500 Global, Southeast Asia

■ Career

Saemin Ahn is a partner at multi-stage venture capital firm 500 Global for its Southeast Asia growth initiatives.

Partner to 500 Global, Saemin was Founding Managing Partner of Rakuten Ventures, Rakuten Group’s US$285 million corporate VC fund, from 2013 to 2022. He has led investments in over 25 tech companies, including GoTo Group (IDX: GOTO), Carousell, Epic! (acquired by Byju's), Coda Payments, ViSenze, Algorithmia, and Polymorph (acquired by Walmart) while advising them on their product roadmap and growth strategy. Along with his VC practice, Saemin managed a diverse range of instruments, including public equities, debt and derivatives. He has deep expertise in advising companies on public listings and acquisitions, and helping institutional investors capture the upside of assets while managing volatility. Saemin has also held management roles at Google in Korea and Singapore.

Saemin takes a hands-on approach in helping founders and management teams build durable strategies by taking into account competitive dynamics and relevant, timely macroeconomic trends. He shares his investing and company-building insights on international and regional media platforms.

Sakiko Nojima MC/Content Planner at PIVOT

略歴

Born in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka. Graduated from Keio University's Faculty of Law in 2019, majoring in legal studies with a focus on antitrust law, foundational leadership, and negotiation skills. Joined Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. (MBS) as an announcer after graduation, making debut on the information program "Chichinpuipui". Held roles as a co-host on various news programs such as "Mint!" and "YonChan TV". Also hosted a wide range of programs including economic-related shows, startup support programs, governmental or medical-related events, large-scale music events, and as a radio personality. Experienced in hosting international events in English. Joined PIVOT in January 2024 as an MC and content planner, responsible for program appearances and content creation. Holds a second-degree black belt in karate.

Samantha GhiottiCo-founder, Chief Executive Officer, Habitto

■ Career

Sam brings over 20 years of unique vantage point and global experience in Technology and Finance. Her track record spans banking, investment and insurance across 5 continents, as an investor, entrepreneur and executive. She led the Singlife team through its exit in 2021, before launching Habitto, her new business in Japan. Consistently recognised as top cohort of women in fintech, Sam is a passionate steward of diversity and inclusion

Sanna ÖörniBusiness Development Manager at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

■ Career

Sanna Öörni is currently focusing at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland building new partnerships, concepts and business cases for smart city area with specific focus on energy. She has knowledge on building innovation ecosystems and co-creation with Finnish and international partners. Background of 15 years in Finnish energy industry working in different management and leadership roles. Specialized in customer relationships and sales, business development and leading changes in the business. Core competence in energy business.

Sara GiustoProducer, Aww inc.

■ Career

As a producer of Aww Inc., Asia's first virtual human company, Sara Giusto is a female leader at the intersection of technology and creativity, and has been featured in Forbes Japan's '30 Under 30' in 2023. Having grown up in Japan, the United States, and Canada, her multicultural background equips her to serve as a global bridge connecting diverse cultures. Through Aww inc, Sara helps produce multiple intellectual properties, including the notable pink-bob virtual human imma. She has also been the sole Japanese participant and the only female panelist at prestigious events such as MIT conferences. She also introduced imma at ComplexCon, the largest street fashion convention in the U.S., among other significant platforms.

Sarita RunebergCEO / Chief Executive Officer of Maria 01

■ Career

Sarita Runeberg is the CEO of Maria 01, the leading startup hub in the Nordics. With a distinguished background in international business and extensive startup advisory experience, Sarita is committed to driving innovation and fostering collaboration within the dynamic startup landscape.
Notably featured in prominent media outlets, including BBC and Financial Times, Sarita is a thought leader dedicated to pushing the boundaries of business in the digital era. Sarita brings a forward-thinking approach to the intersection of commerce and sustainability, positioning Maria 01 at the forefront of innovation and catalyzing positive change in the global startup community.

Seiichi SaitoPanoramatiks Principal

■ Career

Born in Kanagawa in 1975. Saito began his career in New York in 2000 after graduating from Columbia University with a Master of Science degree in Advanced Architectural Design (MSAAD). He returned to Japan after being selected as an artist for Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2003. After working as a freelance designer, he established Rhizomatiks Co., Ltd. (currently Abstract Engine Co., Ltd.) in 2006. Leading the internal architecture department Panoramatiks, he is working as a planning and implementation advisor on a number of projects for local communities led by governments and corporations, as well as solutions for cultural, tourism, and industrial issues. He is the Jury Chair for the GOOD DESIGN AWARD from 2023 and the EXPO Co-creation Program Director for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.

Shiho WatabeCEO, Shibuya Startups

■ Career

Shiho has worked at Morgan Stanley (IBD), Google, Mercari US, ELSA Speak, and various startups. With experience working in Japan, South East Asia, Europe, Africa, Silicon Valley, and DC, she brings a unique perspective. Shiho holds degrees from ICU and Stanford University. She has been advising Shibuya City since 2021 and has been in her current role since February 2023.

Shinichiro KaiChairman and CEO of FOLIO Holdings

■ Career

After graduating from Kyoto University in 2006, I joined Goldman Sachs Securities where I focused on trading Japanese government bonds and interest rate derivatives. In 2010, I transferred to Barclays Securities Japan to lead their algorithmic and interest rate options trading teams. Motivated to make asset management accessible to all and create a new financial experience, I founded FOLIO Co., Ltd. in December 2015, at age 34. In July 2023, I acquired AlpacaTech, a company renowned for its advanced AI technology, and joined its board. Currently, I am the Chairman and CEO of FOLIO Holdings, and a Director at both FOLIO and AlpacaTech.

Shinnosuke KomiyaCo-founder/CSO&CDO of Eukarya Inc.

■ Career

Shinnosuke is a Co-founder, CSO & CDO(Chief Design Officer) of Eukarya and a Multidisciplinary research-based HCI technological Artist/Researcher/Designer/Educator born in Japan and based in NY. His research theme is cognitive human augmentation, which stimulates human cognition from speculative perspectives. He questions people’s perception of the future of technology and society through his works that overturn people’s perceptions. The artist’s goal is to keep creating a new perception in novel ways without a preconceived outcome in our world and inspire those who see his works to look more carefully at the world around them to discover beauty and questions in daily life.
After graduating from Tokyo Metropolitan University with a B.S. and M.S. in Design Engineering, he joined Recruit Holdings as a design engineer. He then moved to New York and received his MPS from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University. Currently, he is also a member of the doctoral program at the University of Tokyo's Interfaculty Initiative in Interdisciplinary Information Studies, Advanced Information Expression Course.

Shogo KawadaInvestor / Co-Founder of DeNA

■ Career

Shogo is an angel investor based on Tokyo. His portfolio covers e-commerce, media, SNS, SaaS, and some high tech industry. Before focusing on investment, he co-founded DeNA as COO with McKinsey colleagues. He is currently fellow of DeNA and visiting professor at Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology. He received Ph.D degree in engineering from Tokyo Metropolitan Univ. in 1996.

Shuta ShibuyaFounder and Chairman, Fuller, Inc.

■ Career

Born in Niigata Prefecture in 1988. After graduating from National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Nagaoka National College, he was transferred to College of Policy and Planning Sciences of Tsukuba University. After working at glee Co., Ltd., he founded Fuller Co., Ltd. in November 2011. In 2016, he was selected into the program “30 UNDER 30” by Forbes, one of the world's leading economic magazines. He moved back to his hometown Niigata in June 2020. In September 2020, he was appointed as the Director of the Niigata Venture Association. In October 2020, he became a visiting professor at Nagaoka National College of Technology. In December 2021, he was awarded the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 Japan. He founded the Technical College Association in May 2022. He is the author of Entrepreneurial Friendship (Friend Management: Created a Company with My Best Friends).

Sota WatanabeStartale Labs CEO, Astar Network Founder

■ Career

Sota is the founder of Astar Network and CEO at Startale Labs. In addition to that, he is one of the directors at the Japan Blockchain Association and an advisor of GMO Web3, Dentsu, and Marui. He is an advisory board member of the Business Intelligence for Global Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. In 2022, he was selected Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. In 2023, he was selected “100 Most Respected Japanese in the World" by Newsweek.

Steve CheahFounder & Chairman of GEN Thailand

■ Career

Dato' Steve Cheah is a seasoned entrepreneurial ecosystem enabler and advisor boasting over three decades ofinternational business and corporate expertise across various regions, including Malaysia, England, Hong Kong,Myanmar, and Thailand.
In his capacity as a board member and advisor to diverse entities such as business chambers, educationalinstitutions, corporations, and international organizations, Dato' Cheah actively participates in commercial,educational, youth, and community initiatives. He oversees national and international projects, hosting aspectrum of activities and programs that generate opportunities to "internationalize" startups, businesses, andSMEs, thereby bolstering the local and regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. Notable global events under hispurview include the Global Sustainability and Productivity Network (GSPN) Dialogue and UN ESCAP Bangkok,GEN@Startup Thailand, Global Entrepreneurship Congress Plus (GEC+ Bangkok), Entrepreneurship World Cup(EWC), and Pitch@Palace ASEAN in collaboration with Buckingham Palace.
Dato' Cheah collaborates with private sectors, embassies, NGOs, and government agencies, focusing ondiplomacy, education, innovation, sustainability, and entrepreneurship. His mission is to establish a robustEntrepreneurial Ecosystem, fostering enhanced cross-border collaboration among entrepreneurs, investors,researchers, policymakers, and community leaders.
He holds the position of Honorary Head of Mission to the Mekong Countries at the Diplomatic Council and leadsthe Global Think Tank and Steering Committee on Innovation, Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, and Education(DCISE). The Diplomatic Council is a non-governmental organization with special consultative status with theUnited Nations (ECOSOC) and holds the distinguished Observer status at UNESCAP Bangkok.

Supriya SenBoard Director and Advisor for Banking & Infrastructure Finance

■ Career

Supriya is a Strategic Advisor & Independent Board Director with over 30 years of experience in finance, technology, strategy consulting, and sustainability. Currently, she serves as a Non-Exec Board Director of public and private companies in Asia and the Middle East. Formerly a senior Advisor at McKinsey, she specialized in infrastructure finance, sustainability, digital technology innovation, and green finance in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, and China. She is also a Director on private and public company boards including We Mean Business Coalition, Indonesia Infrastructure Finance, Pan Asia Metals, and Azure Power. With a background in investment and project finance, private equity, and public-private partnerships, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her roles.

Susan SuPartner, Climate Investing at Toba Capital

■ Career

Susan Su is a Partner at Toba Capital, a multi-stage multi-sector fund where she leads the climate investing practice.
As a former operator with a background in building and scaling technology products and teams at Stripe, Reforge, and Google, Susan brings a builder’s ethos to her work with early stage founders. Prior to joining Toba, Susan was the Head of Growth at Sound Ventures, led by Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary, where she served as a growth advisor to founders of portfolio companies of all stages including Affirm, Forethought, Ethic and many more.
In addition to her work as a climate investor, Susan is a member of the board of directors for The Carbon Business Council, and is a regular co-host of The Carbon Removal Newsroom podcast. Susan is the creator and host of the Climate Money Podcast and publishes essays on climate and investing at ClimateMoney.substack.com.

Susanna CampbellChair and Co-founder of Syre
Board member of Northvolt and H2 Green Steel

■ Career

Susanna Campbell, is an investor, advisor, and experienced board member/chairperson with a long background in private equity investing. She has spent the last seven years focusing on scaling green transition companies based in Scandinavia. She currently serves on several boards, including green scale-ups Northvolt and H2 Green Steel, as well as scale-up investor Kinnevik. She is an industry adviser at Vargas Holding and Senior adviser at Norrsken VC, one of the leading European impact VC funds. She recently became a chair and co-founder of Syre, a venture initiated by global investor Vargas Holding and Swedish retailer H&M Group. Syre is spearheading the decarbonisation and wastage reduction of the textile industry through large-scale textile-to-textile recycling, starting with polyester.

Taizo SonThe Edgeof / Mistletoe Co-Founder

■ Career

Taizo Son, a visionary serial entrepreneur, has dedicated his career to addressing a multitude of social issues through innovative solutions. As a co-founder of Mistletoe, he has played a pivotal role in creating a collective impact community. This initiative has successfully invested in and supported over 170 global startups, each with a mission to tackle pressing social challenges. In 2023, he expanded his entrepreneurial ventures by co-founding The Edgeof in Singapore. This new endeavor focuses on investing in global DeepTech and AI startups with aspirations for Pan-Asia market expansion. The Edgeof aims to foster a robust Pan-Asian startup ecosystem and community, providing unparalleled support to these burgeoning enterprises.

Taka Nakamurataliki, Inc. CEO / taliki Fund General Partner

■ Career

Born in 1995, graduated from Kyoto University. She built two schools in Cambodia as a representative of an international cooperation organization while she was at the university. Later, she studied at a business school in New York. At a TV company in NY, she was involved in coverage of the 2016 presidential election and the UN General Assembly as an assistant producer.
Through various experiences, she felt the need to "support players in solving social issues" and founded taliki Inc.. While incubating more than 250 social entrepreneurs and promoting business development and open innovation at listed companies, she also established a VC for solving social issues as the youngest female representative in Japan in 2020 and is engaged in investment activities. Selected as Forbes JAPAN 2023 "30 UNDER 30".

Takaaki UmadaDirector of FoundX, The University of Tokyo

■ Career

Takaaki Umada is a director at FoundX, the official startup accelerator program at the prestigious University of Tokyo. With over a decade of experience supporting software developers and startup founders, Umada brings deep expertise in startup support, including navigating public affairs and regulatory matters.
Prior to his current role, Umada held positions at Microsoft Japan as a product manager and evangelist. In 2016, he transitioned to the University of Tokyo, where he founded and led Hongo Tech Garage before launching FoundX in 2019. He is the author of "Paradoxical Startup Thinking," "Successful Entrepreneurs Choose Where to Stay," "Implementing the Future,” “Increasing Your Resolution.”

Takane HoriFintech Association of Japan, Executive Advisor/ Mori Hamada, Partner

■ Career

She is an executive advisor of the Fintech Association Trade and a member Industry's Startup New Market Creation Task Force in the Ministry of Economy, , working on the creation of new services and legal support for startups. She is also a member of the Cabinet Office's Regulatory Reform Promotion Council, she participates in discussions in the Startup Investment WG, Work Style and Human Investment WG, and Regional Revitalization WG, and as a member of the National Strategic Special Zone Working Group, she participates in discussions in the special zones WG, working towards legal amendments and environmental improvements.

Takeshi Niinami Representative Director, President & Chief Executive Officer
Suntory Holdings Limited
Chairman 【Representative Director】
Japan Association of Corporate Executives

■ Career

Tak Niinami is the Chief Executive Officer of Suntory Holdings, one of the world's leading consumer products companies with operations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
Outside of Suntory, Tak has served on the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy as senior economic advisor to the Prime Minister since 2014, and is Chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives. Tak is also Asia Pacific Chairman of the Trilateral Commission, Chair of the Asia Business Council, Vice Chair of the United States-Japan Foundation, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on Foreign Relations, and The Business Council in the US.
Tak received his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Tatsuro KosakaVice Chair of the Board of Councillors, Keidanren
The Chair of the Committee on Bioeconomy, KEIDANREN
Senior Advisor, CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL Co., Ltd.

■ Career

After graduating from Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University in 1976, he joined CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL Co., Ltd. in the same year. He was appointed Deputy President of Chugai Pharma Europe Ltd. (UK) in 1995. He subsequently served as Senior Vice President & General Manager of Corporate Planning Dept., Senior Vice President & Deputy Managing Director of Sales & Marketing Group, Senior Vice President & Head of Strategic Marketing Unit and Senior Vice President & Head of Lifecycle Management & Marketing Unit. He served as Representative Director, President & COO in 2012, Representative Director, President & CEO in 2018, Representative Director, Chairman & CEO in 2020, Representative Director, Chairman in 2021, and Senior Advisor (current position) from 2022. Outside of the company, he continues to serve in several positions, including Audit & Supervisory Board Member of Japanese company, as an outside director of several companies and Member of Administrative Council of a national university.

Tiago RamalhoCo-founder and CEO of Recursive AI

■ Career

Tiago holds a Master's degree in Theoretical/Mathematical Physics and a PhD in Biophysics from Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich. After graduation, he joined Google DeepMind. As a senior research engineer, he worked on cutting-edge projects such as reinforcement learning, predictive models and self-directed learning and published numerous papers in international journals such as Nature. He then joined Cogent Labs, a multinational Tokyo based AI start-up, as a lead research scientist. In August 2020, Co-founded Recursive Inc, and became the CEO. Dr.

Timon RuppFounder & CEO of The Drivery GmbH

■ Career

Founder & CEO Timon believes in the creative power of highly connected experts and entrepreneurs. With the founding of The Drivery GmbH in 2019 and The Drivery Holding GmbH, he created a global marketplace for mobility innovators with subsidiaries in Berlin, Shanghai, Yokohama & Seoul. In a unique environment, the exchange of ideas and concepts between visionaries, inventors, and politicians is accelerating innovation. Timon has distinguished himself as an MDAX executive, an entrepreneur, and a corporate venturing specialist with several successful foundations.

Tom KnightFounder, Ginkgo Bioworks

■ Career

Thomas Knight is a computer science pioneer and the godfather of synthetic biology. After competing in STS in 1965 with an electroencephalograph (EEG) he built himself, Knight studied and taught at MIT. There, he worked in the emerging computer science ﬁeld, developing the internet precursor, ARPANET. In the 1990s, Knight became interested in biology and leveraged his computer science background to create BioBricks, a type of DNA building block, and established the MIT Registry of Standard Biological Parts. In 2009, he co-founded Ginkgo Bioworks, which produces revolutionary organisms for commercial use. Ginkgo Bioworks went public in 2021 with the ticker symbol DNA. Knight is also co-founder of the international science competition iGEM.

Tomita AnriSmartround Inc. Director

■ Career

After graduating from Kobe University,I joined Intelligence Inc., where I was involved in startup recruitment support and new business development. In 2016, I joined Salesforce.com, where I started in inside sales before establishing the Startup Strategy Department. In 2019, I joined Smartround.

Tomoko NambaKEIDANREN Vice Chair
Founder/Executive Chairman at DeNA Co., Ltd.

■ Career

Tomoko Namba is the Founder and Executive Chairman of DeNA. Namba served as the company's CEO since its founding in 1999 until June 2011. Prior to founding DeNA, she was a partner at McKinsey & Co. She obtained an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1990.

Tomosaku Sohara Managing Partner at NordicNinja VC

■ Career

Tomosaku Sohara ◎NordicNinjaVC Managing Partner, Over 10 years experience of international finance and investment especially mobility and energy related projects in Europe and Latin America region. In 2019 founded NordicNinja VC and has been leading several investments into early stage companies. Focus areas are ClimteTech, FinTech and so on. Supervisory board member of NAVA (Nordic Asian Venture Alliance)

Toshihiko Kihara KIHARA Commons Co., Ltd. Representative Director

■ Career

Joined Aeroshield Co., Ltd. in 2008.
Has been based in Oita since founding and engaged in the development of sales channels, product improvement, and new product development for the nationwide expansion of the ultraviolet irradiation device “Aero Shield”. With the aim of turning air environmental measures into social infrastructure, he led business management during the second founding period for over 10 years.
Since 2013, he started development, construction, operation management, and general consulting for energy projects such as small hydroelectric power generation (from 2011), geothermal development, and geothermal power generation. He also has knowledge and practical experience in the renewable energy sector.
In March 2021, Aeroshield Co., Ltd. and Fujitsu General Co., Ltd. entered a strategic capital and business alliance.
At KIHARA Commons Co., Ltd., and as an individual, he provides entrepreneur training, venture support, social entrepreneurship support, etc. including direct investment in venture companies and LP investments in VCs.
He also manages and executes “Oita GROWTH Ventures 2023”, a growth-oriented entrepreneur development support project in Oita Prefecture.

Whiplus WangHead of IVS Crypto

■ Career

As a member of Headline Japan / Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC), Whiplus serves as the head of Japan's largest crypto conference, 'IVS Crypto.' In 2022, he successfully led the inaugural “IVS Crypto 2022 NAHA” in Okinawa, which drew more than 2,000 attendees. Following this, in 2023, he hosted “IVS Crypto 2023 KYOTO” in Kyoto, and welcomed more than 10,000 participants from all over the world.

Yoshiharu OkuboEast Ventures (Southeast Asia, Growth Fund) Principal

■ Career

Since 2014, Yoshi has been engaged in business development and venture investments at Sumitomo Corporation and Z Holdings in Southeast Asia. In the same year, he launched a fintech business and, in 2016, was seconded to a Fintech portfolio in Malaysia to support new business development. Subsequently, he contributed to the establishment of a joint venture with the telecommunications group Axiata.
In 2018, Yoshi joined East Ventures as a founding team of Growth Funds exceeding US$700 million, where he led investments in companies like Xendit and Carro. Before his tenure in Southeast Asia, he worked in the Sumitomo Corporation Tokyo office, with the group-wide investment committee. Yoshi founded and sold a tech business to an angel investor while still in college.

Yosuke MaedaBoard Director and CEO, WOTA CORP.

■ Career

Born in Tokushima, Japan. Yosuke graduated from the University of Tokyo, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering. He also complated the Master's Program in Architecture, Graduate School of Engineering, at the University of Tokyo. He began researching biology and chemistry in elementary school, and his interest in water issues in junior high school led him to conduct research on water treatment in high school. He studied urban infrastructure and the living environment of slums in developing countries at university, and housing facilities (water supply, drainage, and sanitation) at graduate school. While in school, he worked on sensor and control development at the world-renowned digital art collective teamLab, among others. He later started his own business and sold the business. He received The University of Tokyo President's Award for Students, the GOOD DESIGN GRAND AWARD from Japan Institute of Design Promotion, and others. As CEO of WOTA, he aims to provide structural solutions to water problems.

Youngsoo HaPartner at Krossroad Partners

■ Career

Youngsoo is a Partner at Krossroad Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm in Korea. Prior to Krossroad, Youngsoo worked as a PE and VC portfolio manager at National Pension Service of Korea, the third largest pension fund in the world. He also spent his career at PwC, Q Capital Partners and Ubiquoss Investment. He serves as a board member of Madup, the leading digital marketing agency in Korea.

Yuka FujiwaraPartner at EY ShinNihon LLC

■ Career

Yuka Fujiwara is a distinguished partner at EY, renowned for her expertise in auditing publicly listed companies, IFRS assignments, and IPO management. In 2008, she founded the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women (EWW) program and subsequently spearheaded accelerators for female and regional entrepreneurs. Since 2020, Fujiwara has made significant contributions as a nominator for the "J-startup" program, actively supporting startups, particularly those led by women. Additionally, she has been instrumental in EY’s human resources, focusing on cultivating female leadership and making a profound impact on both the business and social landscapes globally.

Yuka Tanimoto Executive Director / Managing Editor Web Editorial Team at Forbes JAPAN

■ Career

After working as a financial and economic anchor at a securities firm and Bloomberg TV, she obtained an MBA in the United States. Anchor of Nikkei CNBC and the company's first female commentator. She has interviewed over 3,000 people, including Audrey Tan, Taiwan's Minister of State for Digital Affairs, Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc.
Currently, she is an economic commentator for J-WAVE's. She is also active as a judge for government startups and open innovation awards, and as a corporate executive, including Senior Executive Officer of Royal Housing Group and Advisor to All Personal.
She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for 21st Century Social Design, Rikkyo University Graduate School, and joined "Forbes Japan" in February 2016.
She has been in her current position since January 1, 2022.

Yuki KamimotoCEO at N.Avenue, CoinDesk JAPAN

■ Career

In 2013, Yuki joined Yahoo Japan Corporation (now LINE Yahoo inc), where she was engaged in media and advertising business development with a focus on Yahoo! News, and then worked with an overseas tech venture to launch new businesses. In 2018, she founded N.Avenue, a media company that is specialized in Web3 space and runs the official Japanese version of CoinDesk, the world's largest digital asset reporting media, as well as btokyo, which organizes events and community activities. She has also served as a board member of the Blockchain Promotion Council of Japan (BCCC) since 2023.

Yuki OkaDigireha, Inc. / CEO

■ Career

Born in Tokyo, raised in San Francisco and returned to Japan. After working as caretaker in the welfare field, he established an NPO and ran it for 15 years. Currently running a startup that develops digital rehabilitation tools. It is currently being rolled out not only in Japan but also in medical institutions and welfare facilities in India and the United States.

Yuko EndoEditor-in-Chief of MASHINGUP

■ Career

Yuko Endo joined Mediagene Inc. in 2012, and has been the head of the editorial department and executive officer of Mediagene since 2015.

Yuko FukushimaNHK WORLD JAPAN, Anchor

■ Career

Yuko Fukushima has been a TV news anchor for Japan’s public broadcaster NHK WORLD JAPAN for more than 25 years. She has been presenting daily and weekly news especially on business in Asia including Japan to a worldwide audience. Currently, she is the business anchor for a daily English news program NEWSROOM TOKYO on NHK WORLD JAPAN. In addition to delivering business news, she conducts interviews with government ministers, prominent business leaders, and influential global investors. Her expertise includes extensive investigative field reporting in Japan and other Asian countries. Her academic background includes bachelor’s degree in law from Keio University and studying at Brown University.

Yuta HirayamaFounder and CEO of IDEAPOST

■ Career

Yuta Hirayama, a distinguished graduate of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) and the Graduate School of Economics at Kyushu University, specialized in Industrial Management (QBS). In May 2016, he founded IDEAPOST Inc., focusing on the revitalization of local regions and providing invaluable support to overseas startups.
His professional journey took a new turn in February 2019 when he joined the World Economic Forum's Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan. During his tenure, he played a pivotal role in the launch of the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. However, the organization reached its conclusion with its dissolution in June 2023. Seizing this as an opportunity, He made a return to IDEAPOST Inc. in July 2023, where he now leads the company's renewed focus on supporting startups and promoting open innovation.
[Public Positions in 2024]
・Advisor to Tsukuba City
・Project Professor at Osaka Metropolitan University
・Visiting Associate Professor at Nagoya University / Visiting Associate Professor at Kyushu University
・Special Researcher at Institute of Systems, Information Technology & Nanotechnologies (ISIT)
・Senior Fellow/Advisor at Fukuoka D.C.

Yuya YoshidaHARTi Inc. CEO

■ Career

Yuya Yoshida, the CEO of HARTi Corporation, born in 1995 in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. Recognized by Forbes Japan’s 30 Under 30 and as a Cultural Entrepreneur 30, he is dedicated to the mission of “creating infrastructure for the creative industry” to elevate Japan’s cultural GDP to the highest in the world. He currently manages two major ventures: “HARTi®,” the largest NFT App in Japan, and “HARTi Photo®,” a self-service Photo Booth.

Session Speakers*In Alphabetical Order