Advisors

Joined Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. (current name: SCREEN Holdings) in 1981. In 1998, he became President of one of the overseas subsidiaries (Benelux). He later became President of the overseas subsidiary responsible for the western US and Latin American markets. In 2000, he became president of the US subsidiary for the second time. In 2005, he became Corporate Officer and President of the printing related equipment company. In 2007, he became Corporate Executive Officer and President of the semiconductor equipment company. In 2011, he became  Director, Member of the Board. In April 2014, he became President of the company. In June 2019, he became Chairman of the Board.

Permanent Member of Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Electric and Machinery/Metal Division, Vice Chairman of Kyoto Industrial Association and Vice Chairman of Kyoto Employers’ Association.

Founded Kataoka Corporation in 1968. After serving as CEO and Vice President, Mr. Kataoka was appointed President in 1990 and continues in this position today.

Kataoka Corporation focuses on the production of mobile devices such as cellphones that support our advanced information society, and has captured an 80% share of the domestic market for laser welding equipment used to manufacture the lithium-ion batteries that are at the heart of these devices. In addition, the company has evolved into an R&D-oriented company that is attracting global attention, with the top share in the global market in laser processing machines for thin-film solar cells and EV lithium-ion battery charge/discharge inspection systems.

Vice Chairman of Kyoto Industrial Association and Chairman of Kyoto Institute of Invention and Innovation.

Founded TOSE CO., LTD. in 1979 and has held his current position since 2015. TOSE provides commissioned development  of digital content such as home video game software worldwide. The company has developed more than 2,300 video games and mobile content.

SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd. Outside Director, WACOAL HOLDINGS CORP. Outside Director, Vice Chairman of Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Vice Chairman of KYOTO Industrial Support Organization 21.

Founded CrossEffect, Inc. in 2000. In 2011, he became the CEO of Kyoto Shisaku Net.

In the same year, he founded crossMedical, Inc. and became CEO.

In 2013, he won the Prime Minister’s Award at the 5th Japan Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Awards.

In 2015, he founded Makers Boot Camp (current name: Monozukuri Ventures Co., Ltd.), which helps IoT startups make prototypes for mass production.

He has also served as CEO of KYOTO SHISAKU CORPORATION and as a board member of Kyoto Gakuen University (current name: Kyoto University of Advanced Science). He is the author of the book “The Secrets of the World’s Fastest Company”.

Joined SHIMADZU Corporation in 1965, became President of SHIMADZU Scientific Instruments (U.S.A.) in 1989, President and CEO of SHIMADZU Corporation in 2003, Chairman of the Board in 2009, and Senior Corporate Advisor in 2015. (current position)

In 2014, he became the External Director of Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd. (current position).

Joined Olson-HORIBA INC. a HORIBA ,Ltd JV in the U.S.A. in 1971. After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, Department of Electronics Engineering Graduate Program in 1977, he returned to Japan and served as  Manager of the Overseas Technical Service Department and as General Manager of the International Division before becoming President and CEO in 1992. He has held his current position since 2018.

He has served as Chairman of the Japan Electric Measuring Instruments Manufacturers’Association, President of the Japan Analytical Instruments Manufacturers’Association, and as a member of government advisory bodies such as the Industrial Structure Council. He is currently Vice-Chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation, and Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Special Board of Advisory Member of the Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives.

Mr. Murata has served as President and CEO of Murata Machinery since 2003. The company manufactures textile machinery, machine tools, logistics systems, factory automation systems, automated material handling systems for clean rooms and communication equipment.

He also serves as Chairman of the Japan Textile Machinery Association, Vice President of the Japan Institute of Material Handling, Superintendent of the Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association, the SEMI International Board Member, and Chairman of The Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Hitotsubashi University in 1984 and obtained a MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University in 1990.

Allen Miner, Founder of SunBridge, is one of Japan’s leading venture capitalists and angel investors with significant experience in internet, enterprise software, entrepreneurship and international business development. He and his firm were early backers of many innovative Japanese startups including Macromill, ITMedia and G-Mode and have been instrumental in the Japan market success of Salesforce.com, Concur, Marketo, Demandware and others.

Upon his graduation from Brigham Young University, Mr. Miner joined Oracle Corporation in 1986, where he subsequently founded and helped lead Oracle Japan. In 1999, he founded SunBridge and established the Venture Habitat in Tokyo (2000), Palo Alto (2008) and Osaka (2010) to support the startup ecosystem in Japan and to connect it with the Silicon Valley.

Allen Miner has been recognized by Forbes and Always On as one of the world’s 100 top technology investors.

Started his career at Kanegafuchi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (current name: Kaneka Corporation), where he was involved in electronic materials R&D and new business planning and development. He served as Investment Officer and Head of Investment at Future Venture Capital Co., Ltd. and was appointed President and Representative Director in 2011. He retired as Chairman of the Board in 2017. He has been directly involved in the IPO of more than 10 startup companies.

He is currently focused on venture support activities and holds positions as External Director at UCHIDA YOKO CO., LTD., OSAKA YUKA INDUSTRY LTD. and JOHNAN Corporation. He is also Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University, and Institute of Business and Accounting, Kwansei Gakuin University Graduate School.

Since joining Yahoo! JAPAN in 1996 when he was still a student, Taizo Son has launched and several startup companies and led them to success. While he continues to work as a serial entrepreneur on projects such as VIVITA, which provides creative learning environments for children, as the founder of Mistletoe, a company whose mission is to create social impact, he is committed to supporting the growth of startups that solve the world’s social problems, nurturing the future generation, and building an entrepreneurial ecosystem.