Founding Partner
Jun Niki
Jun Niki formerly served as co-head of the Merchant Banking Division Tokyo, merged with the unit previously known as the Special Situations Group, at Goldman Sachs Group. He has vast investment experience, ranging from private equity, real estate, credit to infrastructure during 16-year period at Goldman.
Jun holds a master’s degree from the School of Engineering at University of Tokyo.
Founding Partner
Koichi Kibata
Koichi Kibata formerly served at JDSC an AI startup as the Business Division Head. Prior to that, led a health tech startup as a co-founder and CEO, made impactful contributions in healthcare investments at Unison Capital, and offered strategic consultation at McKinsey.
Koichi holds M.D. from University of Tokyo and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School as a Fulbright Scholar.
Founding Partner
Naoto Umezu
Naoto Umezu formerly served as a director of Unison Capital, a pioneer of Japanese Private Equity. He has extensive investment experience in healthcare, consumer and other sectors. He also previously worked at Citigroup, with a focus on M&A and financing transaction.
Naoto holds a B.A. in Law from Keio University.
Founding Partner
Koji Shigemitsu
Koji Shigemitsu, with a experience in McKinsey and Monex Securities, led private equity investments at Goldman Sachs and Unison Capital. He further established Topez Capital, the first private debt fund in the country, and subsequently founded Smart Capital.
Koji holds a master’s degree from the School of Engineering at University of Tokyo
CDO / Founding Partner
Megumi Matsutani
Megumi Matsutani is an expert in data strategy and AI Research & Development, focusing on merging science with social applications for business growth. She has provided strategic leadership as the CSO of ZOZO, a fashion eCommerce firm, and leading derivative modeling projects at Goldman Sachs in New York.
Megumi earned a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from University of Tokyo.
CFO / Founding Partner
Kenichi Miyasaka
Kenichi Miyasaka formerly served as a fund controller at Unison Capital, where he oversaw fund administration and GP operations for both domestic and international funds. Prior to this, he worked in auditing and advisory services for banking, securities, and fund clients at PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC, following his time at Norinchukin Bank.
Kenichi holds a B.A. in Economics from Kyoto University and is a certified public accountant.
Partner
Tomohide Handa
Tomohide Handa formerly served as a director of MBK Partners. He has extensive investment experience in healthcare, consumer and retail sectors. He also previously worked as M&A and corporate restructuring advisory at Deutsche Securities
Tomohide holds a B.A. in Law from Keio University.
Technical Director
Shunsuke Aihara
Shunsuke Aihara's expertise lies in product development, machine learning, and ad-technology; formerly served as Head of Advertising Technology at Gunosy, Consultant at Accenture, and CTO at Fairy Devices. He is now an Endowed Assistant Professor at Jichi Medical University's Data Science Center and a technical advisor for numerous firms.
Shunsuke holds a master’s degree of Media and Governance from Keio University.
Data Scientist
Ryosuke Ogata
Ryosuke Ogata is a program evaluation expert specializing in causal inference analysis. He recently led data product development and data science at AI startup JDSC. Prior to that, he implemented causal inference and machine learning in business environments at Applied Predictive Technologies and DataRobot.
Ryosuke holds a master’s degree from the School of Economics at University of Tokyo.
Investor Relations
Masae Miyashita
Masae Miyashita formerly served institutional investors with investment services at Goldman Sachs with expertise in conducting financial trading activities. She later expanded her career into the fintech sector, alongside managing a fitness and yoga studio.
Masae holds a B.A. in Law from Keio University.
Director
Koji Adachi
Koji Adachi formerly served as a Vice President at MBK Partners, specialized in private equity investments in Japan. He also previously worked at Goldman Sachs Japan, with a focus on M&A and financing transactions including IPOs.
Koji holds a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Commerce & Management at Hitotsubashi University.
Vice President
Hiroki Kanda
Hiroki Kanda formerly served at Mitsubishi Corporation, engaged in M&A and new business development.
Hiroki holds a B.A. in Economics from University of Tokyo and USCPA (Inactive).
Vice President
Ryosuke Hashii
Ryosuke Hashii formerly served at Credit Suisse Securities, experienced in domestic and international M&A and financing transactions across various sectors. Prior to that, he worked for Sojitz Corporation, where he was engaged in M&A, new business investments, and project financing transactions.
Ryosuke holds a B.A. in Integrated Human Studies from Kyoto University
Vice President
Yohei Ueno
Yohei Ueno previously served at NSSK, was responsible for investments in service and consumer retail companies. Prior to that, he worked in M&A advisory and fundraising at SMBC Nikko Securities.
Yohei holds B.A. Faculty of Commerce, Chuo University
Associate
Yusuke Ota
Yusuke Ota formerly served at Mitsubishi Corporation, engaged in commodity trading and investment in petrochemical sector.
Yusuke holds B.A. in Law from Hitotsubashi University and M.B.A. with Distinction from London Business School
Associate
Takuya Nagase
Takuya Nagase formerly served at Roland Berger, involved in BDD/PMI, strategic planning, and cost reduction projects. Prior to that, he has experience in M&A and new business investments, primarily in the food industry, at Marubeni Corporation.
Takuya holds a B.A. in Economics from Kobe University
IT Strategist
Akihiro Nakamura
Akihiro Nakamura formerly served as developer of cloud/lingual AI services at a major system integrator, specializes in digital transformation strategies. He is also the founder of REIONE, an association delivering digital talent training for local governments and SMEs.
Associate
Tesshu Takeuchi
Tesshu Takeuchi formerly served at Citigroup focusing on domestic and cross-border M&A and financing transactions in consumer retail, healthcare, and manufacturing industries.
Tesshu holds a B.A. in Commerce from Waseda University.
Controller
Kosuke Maeda
Kosuke Maeda formerly served at Aspirant Group, experienced in fund management and setting up back-office operations. Previously, he assisted with IPO preparations and financial operations at various businesses.
Kosuke holds B.A. in Economics from Hosei University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Controller
Miyuki Monaka
Miyuki Monaka formerly served at MUFG Bank, engaged in LBO/MBO financing. She was in charge of various projects through finance structuring, portfolio management, and credit screening.
Miyuki holds B.A. in Foreign Studies from Osaka University.
Associate
Kento Aida
Kento Aida formerly served at Smart Capital focusing on business due diligence, PMI and strategic planning projects.
Kento holds a B.A. in Economics from Keio University.
Strategic Planning Specialist
Akira Yamamoto
Akira Yamamoto formerly served at pharmaceutical company invested by Unison Capital as the Director of Corporate Planning and an Executive Officer. Prior to that, he worked at Arther D. Little in the fields of medical healthcare and deep technology.
Akira holds B.A. in Pharmaceutical Science and Master's digree in Life Sciences from Kyoto University.
FP&A Specialist
Takeshi Shikama
Takeshi Shikama formerly served at a sports-related company, where he was in charge of management accounting, financial/KPI analysis, and capital policy. He was also engaged in various value creation initiatives.
HR Specialist
Masahiro Aoyagi
Masahiro Aoyagi previously served at en world japan, engaged in the recruitment of management professionals for various IT/Web companies. Prior to that, he worked in recruitment strategy planning and recruitment at Recruit Career.
Masahiro holds a B.A. in Faculty of Management from Aoyama Gakuin University.
Associate
Fumiya Nishimori
Fumiya Nishimori formerly served at Smart Capital, engaged in strategic planning, digital transformation, new business development, IPO, BDD, and PMI project.
Fumiya holds a B.A. in Faculty of Engineering from The University of Tokyo.
Business Process Engineering Expert
Takako Yasui
Takako Yasui formerly served as business prosess reengineering and factory transformation expert at multiple company. She further worked at Altech Corporation in a fields of mechanical design, subsequently engaged with business development at MISUMI Group Inc. and a sports-related company.
Business Development Specialist
Fumito Shimizu
Fumito Shimizu formerly founded 3Sunny Co., Ltd. and developed CAREBOOK, a helthcare vertical SaaS. After its merger to TEIJIN LIMITED, he serves D Capital, involves in helthcare related portfolio
DX Guild & Advisory Board
Akira Shibata
Akira Shibata is a renowned entrepreneur and data scientist with a PhD in Physics. He specialises in business value creation with data and AI and held positions such as CEO of DataRobot Japan and COO of Qosmo, Inc. Akira currently heads Weights & Biases Japan accelerating AI development across numerous domestic and international corporations.
Daisuke Matsumoto
Daisuke Matsumoto, co-founder of Five Inc., a mobile video advertising network, led its integration into LINE Corporation following an acquisition. He was engaged in the development of LINE's advertising network and its operational efficiency through data analysis and KPI management.
Fuhito Kojima
Fuhito Kojima, a graduate from the University of Tokyo and a PhD holder from Harvard University, has held academic positions at Yale University and Stanford University before becoming a professor at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Economics in 2020. He is also the director of the University of Tokyo Market Design Center (UTMD).
Kota Ishihara
Kota Ishihara, a seasoned algorithm engineer in mathematical optimization, has notably served in the AI sector, specializing in business solutions and algorithm development in various fields. He established ALGORITHMIC NITROUS , Inc. in 2018.
Koki Hayashi
Koki Hayashi has worked as a full-stack engineer in Tokyo, Hungary, and Germany. Most recently, he managed a HealthTech startup and has experience in product sales. He has extensive experience in Digital Transformation, including predicting delivery demand for major medical wholesale companies and introducing recommendation features to major restaurant search sites.
Minoru Kuriyama
Minoru Kuriyama is a data scientist and entrepreneur offering strategic advice based on data technology. He plays key roles in several startups and teaches at Globis University and Tama University. With a history at the University of Tokyo and McKinsey, Kuriyama now independently continues his ventures.
Naohiko Oikawa
Naohiko Oikawa is a visiting professor at Waseda Business School specializing in digital information technology. With experience at Dentsu, McKinsey, and other firms, he formulates strategies and supports startups while bridging the gap between academic research and practical application.
Yasumasa Yamamoto
After earning a Master's degree from the University of Tokyo, Yasumasa Yamamoto worked at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Americas Headquarters. He earned a Master of Science degree at Harvard University and joined Google, supporting Digital Transformation. He has written numerous books on the use of digital technology in business.