Daniel Heffernan

Stripe, Inc.　
Representative Director

Daniel Heffernan established Stripe Japan in 2014 and since then has been building the product and team, and running local operations.
Passionate about both engineering and Japan, Daniel has been writing software for 17 years and first starting studying Japanese 14 years ago.
Prior to Stripe, Daniel was an engineer at Cookpad. He earned his Masters in Creative Informatics at The University of Tokyo.

Kazuki Matsuo

EX-Fusion Inc.　
Co-founder & CEO

Doctor of Science from Osaka University Graduate School of Science
Specialty: Fast Ignition, Laser Fusion, High Energy Density Plasma Applications

Project Name

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• Client: Finish
• Category: Identity

Ryusuke Hirota

MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd.　
Director / Strategic Investment Div.

Ryu joined MUIP in January 2023 as a Director. 
Prior to joining MUIP, Ryu was at Spiral Ventures in Singapore and was in charge of investment and growth support for early-stage tech startups in Southeast Asia since 2015. 
Prior to that, Ryu joined Mitsubishi Corporation in 2009 and engaged in financial markets operation, financial markets and macroeconomic research, and inter-company financing for the portfolio companies in Southeast Asia where he was captivated with the growth of the region.

Machi Takahashi

Stroly Inc　
President and CEO

Graduated from Carleton College in the U.S. After working for an IT venture company, he launched an in-house venture company at ATR Laboratories.
In order to promote "Stroly", a map platform to convey the attractiveness of an area, he conducted MBO in 2016, became independent, and is now working as a startup.
Winner of the Good Design Award, selected as the first Japanese finalist for the 2019 SXSW Pitch in the U.S., and selected as a 2023 J-Startup company.

Anna Kreshchenko

Flora Co., Ltd　
CEO

Anna graduated from the Faculty of International Relations at the National University of Odessa, Ukraine.
She came to Japan in 2017 as a recipient of a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Graduated from Kyoto University, Faculty of Law in 2022.Selected by S&R Foundation in 2020 to travel to Silicon Valley on Kingfisher Leadership Program.
In the same year, she was selected for the Phoenix Incubation in Kyoto.
She founded Flora in Japan to provide physical and mental health care for women due to the onset of pregnancy depression in someone close to her.

Michiko Kato

Woven Capital　
Partner

Michiko Kato is a partner at Woven Capital, the global growth-stage fund of Toyota.
Michiko's investments span multiple domains including mobility, automation, sustainability and data & analytics, and led key investments such as Nuro and Ridecell.
She serves as an independent director at HENNGE and Excite Holdings.

Jordan Fisher

Zehitomo　
Co-Founder & Chairman

Jordan Fisher is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Zehitomo, Japan’s premier marketplace for local services:
From photographers, to plumbers, to personal trainers, Zehitomo empowers small businesses and freelancers that conduct their business offline. By providing a platform where customers can make highly customized requests, and service professionals can follow through with highly tailored solutions, Zehitomo is actively disrupting Japan’s $200 billion local services industry.

Prior to founding Zehitomo, Jordan was Vice President at J.P.Morgan in Tokyo. He worked as a programmer and project manager in Fixed Income Technology, before moving to help grow the Equity business as an Electronic Sales Trader covering both Japanese and international clients.

Born and raised in New York, Jordan holds a B.S. Computer Science from the University of Southern California. Outside of Zehitomo, Jordan is an active mentor to several Tokyo startups. He is also a loving husband, and a father to two young daughters.

Kenichi Saito

Sozo Ventures　
Senior Director
Fintech Association of Japan

Kenichi focuses on strategic planning, investment, business development and educational activities.
Prior to joining Sozo Ventures, he spent 21 years at Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, where he led corporate innovation activities globally.
He has been based in Singapore since 2009 and holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Business School.
From 2015, he led MUFG's Americas Global Innovation Team in Silicon Valley for 5 years, driving startup investment and business development.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Science and Engineering from Waseda University.

Tomosaku Sohara

NordicNinja VC　
Managing Partner

After graduating from Keio University with a degree in Economics, Tomosaku established a renewable energy fund in Mexico and led venture investments for Europe at a government-affiliated financial institution before founding NordicNinja VC in 2019.
Based in Finland and the UK, he will make venture investments in the European region with a focus on the Nordic region.
Focus area is all things Sustainer related, including Climatetech, and supports business development, including participation in the Japanese market, as an outside director of the portfolio company.
He is also a board member of the Nordic Asian Venture Alliance, an accelerator between the Nordic region and Asia, including Japan, based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Kathy Liu

Plug and Play Japan　
Head of Osaka, Director, Energy & Smart Cities

PhD. of International Law in Kyoto University.
After working for Japanese and foreign consulting firms, she joined Plug and Play Japan.
She has over 10 years of experience in the energy industry and smart city field, assisting major companies with mid-term planning, new business studies, feasibility assessments, and new business launches.
She leads the Plug and Play Osaka office and focuses on urban development and new industry formation in the Osaka area.

Tomonori Izumi

for Startups, Inc.　
Acceleration Headquarters Director, Public Affairs Strategy Office

After a career in business improvement consulting, the financial industry, and the GMO Internet Group, he joined For Startups, Inc. in its early stages of establishment and was involved in the operation of the growth industry support business in its early days.
He was involved in the operation of a growth industry support business in its infancy.
In addition to policy advocacy activities, he is promoting the construction of ecosystems with universities and large companies in various regions.
In Kansai, he is mainly active as an Exective Advisor for the Osaka Bureau of Industry and a member of the J-startup KANSAI recommendation committee.

Shunsuke Tsuboi

Sagri Co., Ltd　
CEO

He graduated from Yokohama National University, Faculty of Science and Technology.
In 2018, he founded Sagri, a company that aims to achieve the realization of using satellite data and AI to contribute to the development of agricultural management and a decarbonized society.
Selected as one of the MIT Technology Review Innovators under 35.
Member of the Study Group on Management of Agricultural Land Information Using Digital Maps, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.Member of the "Young Experts' Study Group for Achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050", Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
Selected as one of "30 Under 30 Changing the World" by Forbes (Japan and Asia).

Kazushige Nobutani

Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry　
Director General

Director General, METI Kansai Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
After joining the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1990, he has worked extensively on SME policy, trade policy, and environmental policy.
Prior to assuming his current position, he served as Deputy Director-General for Environmental Affairs, Minister's Secretariat, and Vice President of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tokyo.

Tomomichi Takao

Fintech Association of Japan,　
Managing Director
Funds, Inc. Director,　
Chief Legal Officer

He has experienced working in Initial Public Offering Department of Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd.
Before joining Daiwa Securities, he was an in-house counsel in DeNA Co., Ltd. and engaged in the launch of multiple new businesses.
He is an attorney admitted in Japan.
He earned a bachelor of laws degree at Osaka University, a Juris Doctor degree at Waseda University.

Bejamin Tee

National University of Singapore
Associate Professor
Associate Vice President (Enterprise)

Benjamin Tee is passionate about materials and sensors and their role in artificial systems and sustainable technology consumption.
He is an MIT TR35 Innovator (Global) in 2015 and listed as World Economic Forum’s Young Scientist of the Year in 2019.
He leads his research group: Sensors.AI to develop technologies at the cutting edge of materials science, mechanics, electronics and biology, with a focus on sensitive electronic skins that has tremendous potential to advance global healthcare technologies in an increasingly Artificial Intelligence (AI) era.

Kunihiro Ishibashi

Special Advisor for Growth Strategy to the Governor of Osaka
The Consortium for Japan International Asset Management Center Promotion

Since April 2023, he has been serving as a Special Advisor for Growth Strategy to the Governor of Osaka, offering proposals and advice on measures for the growth of Osaka and, by extension, of Japan as a whole.
https://global-financial-city-osaka.jp/
He has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Consortium for Japan International Asset Management Center Promotion since October 2023.

Erika Iwai

Sollective Inc.　
Founder CEO

Master of Engineering from Imperial College London.
After working as a researcher at Sumitomo Electric Industries, she obtained an MBA from UCLA and worked on HR strategies based on human capital management at US mega ventures Riot Games, Inc. and major companies such as Mattel, Inc. In 2018, she worked at Geometry Ogilvy Japan branch of WPP Group, the world's largest advertising agency, to oversee human resource management, before becoming an independent freelance HR consultant.
In 2020, she founded Sollective Inc.

Alex Odajima

EDGEof INNOVATION, LLC　
CEO

As a specialist in business incubation, Alex focuses on various activities to connect the innovation ecosystems in Japan and overseas.
He has been involved in different initiatives in collaboration with embassies and startup support organizations in countries such as Canada, Germany, France, and Estonia.
He serves as a J-Startup nomination committee member, Start2 Group Japan representative, Endeavor Japan operations manager and more.

Takeshi Ebihara

Rebright Partners　
Founding General Partner

Takeshi Ebihara is Founding General Partner at Rebright Partners, VC firm invests in Seed to Series-A Startups in SE Asia and India includes Indonesian Largest IPO company Bukalapak (1st round Lead/Solo), Philipino Largest tech exit company Coins.Ph (1st round co-lead) , Indian leading Medical E-Commerce MedikaBazaar (1st round Lead/Solo).
Ebihara has been in the industry more than 25 years as a venture capitalist as well as serial entrepreneur started his career at JAFCO, the largest VC/PE firm in Japan in 1994.
He also founded and managed several internet companies includes Tokyo Stock-EX Listed Public Company.

http://rebrightpartners.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebihara

Shinichi Saito

Mizuno Corporation　Executive Officer
Manager, Diamond-sports Division, Work Business Division

For 19 years since joining Mizuno, Shinichi Saito has gained wide variety of experience both domestically and internationally related to product planning of baseball shoes.
Transferred in business department in 2007, he has been engaging in sales planning, marketing, business strategy and management, as well as Mizuno Acceleration program.

Masaki Terashita

Mizuno Corporation
Manager, Global Equipment Product Department

Joining Mizuno in 1991, Masaki Terashita experienced product planning and marketing.
Since 2014, he has overseen planning, development, and management among whole equipment.
Ever since being a member of Mizuno, Masaki has been engaging in manufacturing, Monozukuri.

Hirotaka Nakajima

Mizuno Corporation
Expert, Corporate Planning Office

After experiencing IT company and others, Hirotaka Nakajima joined Mizuno in 2018.
He has experienced SE and corporate planning and engaged in alignment with VC and developing new business while stationing in Silicon Valley.
Currently Hirotaka is in charge of new business, co-creation with startups, and Mizuno Acceleration program.

Shinjirou Hiyama

Former pro baseball player, Baseball commentator, YouTuber

Graduating from Heian High School in Kyoto, Shinjirou Hiyama won the top batting title at Toyo University when he was a sophomore and joined HANSHIN Tigers.
As a leader of the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association and also a cleanup hitter, who achieved hitting for the cycle, he led the team to be a Pacific League Champion in 2003, for the first time in last 18 years, and won the best player award after the Japan Series.
So called God of pinch hitter, he recorded 158 hit, 14 homers, 111 RBI during his career.
After retirement, he has been actively played a role as a commentator.

Official Website