Hideki began his career at a domestic financial institution after receiving his BA in law from Waseda University. He has engaged with branch work, headquarters' sales & planning section, sales promotion, financial planning, and management strategy. He has also performed consulting work for financial institutions and business corporations at an international consulting company. After joining INCJ, he engaged with investments and value-up activities.

Tomohiro joined financial advisory firm and engaged in various work on value-evaluations, corporate reorganizations, and advisories on investment structure. He joined INCJ in 2010 where he was involved with planning investment strategy, new business investments, M&A in overseas companies, curve-out deals, growth-stage investments, fund investments, investments as an industrial & social issue solution. He focuses on developing new investment themes such as robotics, AI/IoT/big data, industrial-internet, ICT healthcare as well as developing partnerships with big corporations. He holds a BS in corporate finance, from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.

Toru is joined VGI in 2020. Prior to joining VGI, he worked in portfolio management of INCJ at JIC. He gained experience in examining start-up companies from various angles through the practice of accounting audits, internal control audits, IPO support, M&A support, and grasping the actual situation of investee companies. Before that, he was a partner of YUSEI Audit & Co. after working for Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance and Chuo Audit Corporation. He received a BS in Education from the University of Tokyo. He qualified as a CPA in Japan.

Prior to joining VGI in August 2020, Daisuke worked as a director for the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), with a focus on venture capital investments and fund investments, as well as social problem solutions. He has a broad range of industry experience, including digital transformation in the industrial & agricultural fields and social implementation of technologies. Prior to joining INCJ, he worked for a patent law firm, where he supported Ricoh Company Ltd's intellectual property strategy, and helped the company acquire, protect, and use its IPR. He began his career in sales and business at Toppan Printing Co., Ltd in 1998.

He holds a Master's Degree in information science from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (2011), an MBA in financial strategy (2016), and a Master's Degree in business law (2014) from Hitotsubashi University Graduate School. He attained a Bachelor's degree in education from Waseda University in 1998 and a second Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Tokyo University of Science in 2008. He was certified as a Japanese patent attorney in 2005.

Yoshiharu joined VGI in 2020, prior to which he worked for INCJ as a venture capitalist. He previously worked at Daiwa, a Japan-based investment bank, mainly focusing on capital markets for growth sectors and biotechs. He received his MS in life science from the University of Tokyo and a B.Pharm from the Tokyo University of Science. He is a registered pharmacist and also a CMA.

Professional Experience; Masaki is experienced in venture & growth investment and hands-on support for portfolio companies' corporate strategy/development at INCJ. He also has experience in corporate strategy & execution in international environments having worked at NTT, Boston Consulting Group, and is also especially well versed in telecom/ICT, media and manufacturing industries. He holds a BS and MS degrees in science & technology from Waseda University.

Toshiya joined VGI in 2020, after he worked for INCJ as a venture capitalist. Before that, he was a business development director of marketing technology at Hakuhodo Inc. He received his Master's degree in engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Yuki joined VGI in 2020, prior to which he worked for INCJ as a venture capitalist. Before that, he was a consultant for technology, media, and telecom sectors at the Japan Research Institute. He received his Master's degree in physics from the University of Tokyo.

Prior to joining VGI in 2020, Hanae spent two years with the Venture and Growth Investment Group at INCJ, where her specific interests include biotech, digital health, and aerospace.
Prior to joining INCJ,, she was a project manager at a Japanese biotech startup, where she led drug discovery research and a clinical study in oncology. She began her career with Canon as a material engineer developing inkjet printers. She is also currently serving as a visiting advisor with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). She holds an MBA from the London Business School and an MS in bioengineering from the University of Tokyo.

Shoko transferred to VGI in 2020 after working at INCJ since 2018. She began her career with Accenture, where she was in charge of planning business strategy and business transformation for high-tech manufacturing companies, telecommunications carriers, and more. She then joined a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) to lead a new service development. She transferred to VGI in Aug. 2020, after beginning her work with INCJ in 2018. She holds a BE in information and computer science from Keio University and an MBA in finance from Hitotsubashi University.

Prior to joining VGI in 2020, Yutaka worked as a venture capitalist with INCJ since January 2017. Yutaka joined VGI in 2020. Before that, he worked for an engineering firm, engaged in overseas sales, startup of new business/overseas subsidiary/JV, and cross-border M&A in Asia, the Middle East, and North America. He received an MBA from INSEAD and Bachelor's degree in political science from Keio University.

Mayumi joined VGI in 2020, after beginning her work with INCJ in 2014 where she focuses on investments in university-based startups and those in local cities which developing AI, software, industrial machines, and more. She began her career with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) where she focused on trade and investment issues in Latin America, as well as the cap-and-trade system and later worked at the World Bank's Clean Technology Fund. She is interested in areas such as workstyle innovation, the medical/healthcare and Ed-tech field. She holds a BA from Keio University in Japan and a master's degree as a Fulbright Scholar from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. In addition to her native Japanese, she speaks English and Spanish.

Reika focuses on investment in the medical/healthcare fields and the AI/big data/SaaS fields. She has experienced carve-out investment, fund investment, and value creation through the incorporation of design thinking.
She joined VGI in 2020 after working in INCJ as a venture capitalist.
Before that, she planned marketing strategy and led the launching of overseas businesses for Walt Disney Japan after working for a consultant at Accenture. She received her Master's degree in science from Osaka university and is also a registered dietitian.

Shun is joined VGI in 2020 after working at INCJ since 2017. As a lead investor in early to late-stage startups, he has been responsible for all aspects of the investment process from origination to execution.
He formerly worked at Accenture in strategy group as a consultant. At Accenture, he was involved in building e-commerce strategy and implementing it with large-sized retailing companies as well as reorganizing sales team and its marketing strategy for major beverage companies. Prior to Accenture, He worked at Rakuten, the largest Japanese e-commerce oriented conglomerate.He graduated from Keio University with a BEc.

After qualified as an attorney at law of Japan in 2009, Akira engaged in a wide range of corporate legal affairs, such as finance transactions, M&A transactions, restructuring or insolvency matters and dispute resolution at Allen & Overy Tokyo and Sato & Partners. He joined INCJ in 2017 as an in-house counsel and supported investment executions and value creation of portfolio companies. Akira joined VGI as a venture capitalist in 2020. He holds LL.B. from Keio University and J.D. from Keio University Law School.

Takashi joined VGI in 2021. Prior to joining VGI, he worked for Mizuho Securities, advisory group of global investment banking department for over 14 years. He was in charge of advising mainly Japanese clients on their business portfolio strategies, capital strategies and mergers and acquisitions. From 2012 to 2017, he was based in New York office and engaged in origination and execution activities of cross border transactions. He covered several industries including financial industry, financial technology, social infrastructure (logistics and construction) and industry machinery.

He holds a bachelor of science and technology in administration engineering from Keio University and a master degree of science and technology in management science from Keio University.

Kenji joined VGI in 2021, before Kenji assumed the current responsibility in VGI, he was managing robotics technology development projects including World Robot Summit at NEDO. During his assignment at NEDO Silicon Valley office in 2014, he was in charge of planning and operation of NEDO’s smart grid projects and Japan-US collaboration events in the U.S. Before that, he worked on global expansion of Japanese renewable energy technologies at the METI in 2010. He holds Master’s degree in Marine Biotechnology from the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.

Teppei joined VGI in December 2020, prior to which he worked for INCJ as a venture capitalist since 2016. He engaged in venture-growth investment and value up support such as recruitment support. He formerly worked at Accenture in IT group as a consultant. At Accenture, he was involved in project management in Japan-US system integration project and derivatives trading system implementation project. Prior to Accenture, He worked at SBIC East Japan, Tokyo Small and Medium Business Investment & Consultation. At SBIC, he conducted startup investment, value up support such as human resource development, and fund operation. He was in charge of IT startups such as web advertising, web patrol and image processing. He graduated from Keio University with a Batchelor of Arts in Economics.

Misaki joined one global accounting firm in 2014. She is seconded to VGI in 2021 October. At the accounting firm, she was initially engaged in financial statement audits of listed companies in various industries. Then she was assigned to a team specialized in growing enterprise support in 2019, where she was mainly engaged in audit of pre-IPO companies and support to start-ups including organizing business socializing events and providing informative materials in accounting. She obtained a MBA from Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from University of Hyogo. She is a licensed CPA in Japan.

Jun joined VGI in December 2021 and previously worked at Mitsubishi Corporation in trading, investment, and business development in the materials, life science, and energy industries. He was mainly involved in M&A and PMI as one of the board members, venture investments and supports, as well as launching new businesses in North America and Southeast Asia in collaboration with major companies. He holds a Master’s degree in department of chemistry and biotechnology from University of Tokyo.

Pamela joined VGI in January 2022. Prior to joining VGI, she worked as a Buy Side Equity Analyst and M&A Valuation & Modeling Analyst, specializing in domestic/cross-border venture business valuation, market entry/expansion strategy, business due diligence and fundraising support. Before that, she was an Urban Design Consultant, designing and transforming built spaces into innovative milieux. Growing up and working in Taiwan, Canada, the UK and Japan, as well as being multilingual has enabled her to develop a global mindset and interdisciplinary perspective to deliver business value, leverage innovation and create positive impact by people and for people. She holds a Master’s degree in Media Design from Keio University, an MPhil in Planning, Growth and Regeneration from the University of Cambridge and a BSc in Urban Planning, Design and Management with First Class Honors from University College London (UCL), the University of London.

Naoko joined VGI in 2022 as a secondment from Hibiya-Nakata where she specializes in M&A, finance, global disputes and general corporate since 2019. Prior to becoming Japanese and NY attorney, she engaged in business consulting at various start-up companies with focus on initial start-up, governmental affairs, building mid-term strategy & HR. She started her career at Morgan Stanley as an investment banker where she engaged in M&A, capital markets, and real estate fund set-up/offerings. She also worked for Credit Suisse as an equity analyst covering financial institutions.

She holds LLM from University of Pennsylvania, JD from Waseda Law School, MSs Public Policy & Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Tokyo. She is admitted to Japanese & New York State Bar.

Yoshiharu joined VGI in 2022. Prior to joining VGI, he worked for Sumitomo Pharma as a medicinal chemist for 10 years. His main research areas are central nervous system and oncology. From 2019 to 2021, he worked at External Innovation Department in the US subsidiary of Sumitomo Pharma as associate director, and managed collaborative research projects with Harvard University etc. and evaluated research assets of startup companies. He was also in charge of search & evaluation, innovative technology development and business development for healthcare areas.

He received Ph.D in pharmaceutical science from Kyoto University. He has a pharmacist license.

Specially Appointed Associate Professor (Supply Chain x Data Science), Institute of Data Science, Tokyo International University, from April 2024.After working at Hitachi, Ltd., he worked as a consultant at Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting and Nomura Research Institute, engaging in M&A, JV establishment, platform strategy, robotics strategy, industrial DX, smart city support, and rule formation strategy support. Author of many books, including "Manufacturing Industry Platform Strategy" (Nikkei BP, published September 2021), "Japanese Platform Business" (Nikkei Publishing, co-author, published January 2020), and "Meta Industrial Revolution" (Nikkei BP, published October 2022) Web media: Business + IT "Digital Industrial Structure", Nikkei Business Daily Digital Industrial Strategy. He also writes a series of articles for Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun's "Strategy Foresight: Manufacturing DX". Appointed as a member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Study Group for Realizing Japan and ASEAN Integrated Growth through Supply Chain Resilience and Upgrading" (2022).He joined VGI in August 2022 and has been an adviser (part-time) since April 2024.

B.A. in Commerce, Keio University, M.Sc. in System Design and Management (SDM), Keio University; he is enrolled in a PhD programme and conducts research activities.

Kazuya joined VGI in 2022. Prior to joining VGI, he worked for MUFG Bank and engaged in commercial banking, overseas business, stationed overseas and administrative operations for over 30 years. During the latest 16 years of his tenure at the bank, he gained extensive management experience in accounting, general affairs, corporate planning, internal audit, etc., and contributed to improve the business operations and the business expanding of the bank.

He graduated from Hitotsubashi University with a Batchelor of Commerce and Management. He has been awarded the professional designation of Certified Internal Auditor.

Takumi joined VGI in 2023. Prior to joining VGI, he worked at MUFG Bank and engaged in commercial banking business, M&A finance, establishment of a joint venture, etc.,. He also worked at Morgan Stanley in New York as a secondment to the Private Credit team, where he mainly focused on the underwriting investment opportunities. During the secondment, he worked for Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab as well and engaged in operating the accelerator program for startups in the U.S. and Europe.

He graduated from Keio University with a Bachelor of Economics.

Takuma Tsuzuku joined VGI in 2023. He has more than 10 years of experience at the pharmaceutical industry. At Sumitomo Pharma, his responsibilities included research related to drug delivery system, formulation and bio-distribution and process development. After that he was engaged in planning of novel research theme and search & evaluation of in-licensing opportunities as associate director. He also had worked for Remiges Ventures, Inc. as a secondment for a few years, where he was mainly engaged in early biotech investment as investment manager.

Takuma holds a MSc in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Shizuoka and a M.B.A. from Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University. He has a pharmacist license.

Mr. Kazawa worked in sales, market dealer, and middle back operations at Mizuho Financial Group’s holding company, investment bank, commercial bank, trust bank. During most of tenure with Mizuho Financial Group, he gained experience in a wide range of compliance operations, including insider and information management, and contributed to the improvement of governance of the company. After working as registered financial institution, Type 1 Financial Instruments Business, and Investment Advisory Business, he joined VGI in October 2023.

Graduated Sophia University, Faculty of Economics. Regular Member’s Internal Administrator, Class-1 Sales Representative Compliance Officer Proficiency Test

After graduating, Takayuki joined a leading auditing firm and was responsible for group audits of major domestic manufacturing companies listed overseas. Subsequently, he worked in financial due diligence and stock price valuation at an M&A advisory firm. At a major venture capital firm, he took part in the creation of statutory disclosure documents, the establishment of internal controls, the management of portfolios, and served as a project manager for the digital transformation of financial accounting. Moreover, from the beginning stages of a logistics venture, he served as the CFO, focusing on the development and execution of financial strategies, setting up the financial accounting system, and refining HR policies and labor regulations. He also engaged in external alliance tasks, notably the establishment of joint ventures with a Chinese robotics startup. He joined VGI in November 2023.

He graduated from Seikei University's Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics and Business Management. He is a certified public accountant in Japan.

Kan joined VGI in November 2023. Prior to joining VGI, he was a corporate strategy director at Daiwa Asset Management where he worked closely with executives on strategy and led multiple open innovation initiatives. Before that, he started his career as an equity trader and covered both Japanese and global markets.

He earned his B.A. in Economics from Yokohama National University and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is a Chartered Member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan.

Refu joined VGI in 2024. Prior to VGI, he worked for Development Bank of Japan for over 14 years. In corporate finance department, he engaged in banking business covering infrastructure area such as airplane mobility, energy and logistics. In addition, he was in charge of enterprise reconstruction. In investing department, he engaged in venture and growth investment, domestic and cross-border jointed-buyout with Japanese enterprises. Also he engaged in investing for Japanese listed companies and LP investments for private equity and venture capital funds in Japan, U.S., Europe, Africa, India and South-East Asia. In Management Planning department, he was in charge of making finance plans and mid-term plans, introducing management accounting and public relations.

He holds Master’s degree of Applied Life Science in Kyoto University Graduate School of Agricultural Science.

He joined VGI in April 2024, and has worked for Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and several other ministries since 1992, where he was involved in policy making as an expert in the science field, especially in food safety and hygiene, environment, and pharmaceutical affairs. He also has experience in research promotion at national research institutes and in drug review work at Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA).

He holds a Master of Pharmacy from the Meiji Pharmaceutical University. He has a pharmacist license.