Advisor

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  Alison Birch

  Director, Chief Operating Officer, Head of Fukuoka Office
  State Street Trust and Banking Co., Ltd.

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  Alison joined State Street Trust and Ba……

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  Alison Birch

  Director, Chief Operating Officer, Head of Fukuoka Office
  State Street Trust and Banking Co., Ltd.

  Alison joined State Street Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. in April 2022, and was appointed as a Director, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Head of Fukuoka Office in June 2022. Prior to joining State Street Trust and Banking Co., Ltd., Alison spent 35 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. in the U.S., Japan and Hong Kong, where Alison had served as the head of operations, technology, finance, human resources and fixed income division. Alison received a B.A. from the Department of Asian Studies at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, USA. Participated in the Study Abroad Program in Japan at Doshisha University. Alison also had experience as a Rotary Club exchange student at a high school in Imari City, Saga Pref., Japan.

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  Takeshi Kito

  Co-founder & CEO, Elevandi Japan

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  Takeshi worked for Boston Consulting Gr……

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  Takeshi Kito

  Co-founder & CEO, Elevandi Japan

  Takeshi worked for Boston Consulting Group and in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Co., Ltd. (now BofA Securities Japan Co., Ltd.). He next launched and ultimately sold Fintech startup Crowd Realty, and he then co-founded and became CEO of Elevandi Japan in August 2023. He is on a number of expert councils of the Japanese government, such as the Cabinet Office’s New Technologies Effectiveness Evaluation Committee and the Digital Agency’s International Data Governance Research Group, and he is also an International Financial Advisor of the Fukuoka Prefectural Government.

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  Masashi Namatame

  Senior Managing Executive Officer, Group CDO (Chief Digital Officer), Tokio Marine Holdings Inc.

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  Mr. Namatame joined Tokio Marine Holdin……

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  Masashi Namatame

  Senior Managing Executive Officer, Group CDO (Chief Digital Officer), Tokio Marine Holdings Inc.

  Mr. Namatame joined Tokio Marine Holdings in 2018, assumed Managing Executive Officer and Group Chief Digital Officer（CDO) in April 2021 and Senior Managing Executive Officer, CDO, from April 2024. Prior to Tokio Marine, he was Managing Director, and the member of the board at BlackRock Japan, where he was the head of strategic business development and institutional businesses, lead strategic partnership program and developed Japan mid-term strategic plan. Before that he had a number of senior executive positions at Visa, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. At Deutsche, he was the Managing Director, Head of public sector group/Financial Institutions Group and led a number of strategic transactions globally. He started his career at Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, where he was leading its derivatives business, capital markets business, and risk management practice. He graduated from University of Tokyo and earned MBA from Harvard Business School.

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  Takafumi Ochiai

  Senior Partner, Attorney at Atsumi & Sakai
  Head of Policy Research Institute
  Vice-Chairperson of the Fintech Association of Japan

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  Takafumi worked for approximately 9 yea……

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  Takafumi Ochiai

  Senior Partner, Attorney at Atsumi & Sakai
  Head of Policy Research Institute
  Vice-Chairperson of the Fintech Association of Japan

  Takafumi worked for approximately 9 years at the Tokyo and Beijing offices of Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, where he handled cases on international disputes & bankruptcies, intellectual properties, and overseas investments, among others. Since joining his current law firm, he has been providing business advice and helping establish new systems in industries such as finance, healthcare, real estate, MaaS, and IT. He also serves in various roles for the Japanese government as well as private institutions, such as acting Chair of the Startup and Investment Working Group on the Cabinet Office’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council, vice chairperson of the Working Group on the Cabinet Office’s National Strategic Special Zones, member of the Digital Agency’s Digital-related Institutional Reform Study Group, and vice-chairperson of Japan Financial Service Intermediary Business Association.

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  Makoto Shibata

  Head of FINOLAB / Chief Community Officer, FINOLAB Inc.
  Audit & Supervisory Board Member, UI Bank Co., Ltd.

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  Makoto is currently in charge of FINOLA……

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  Makoto Shibata

  Head of FINOLAB / Chief Community Officer, FINOLAB Inc.
  Audit & Supervisory Board Member, UI Bank Co., Ltd.

  Makoto is currently in charge of FINOLAB community operation since 2019. In his former position at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, he was leading R&D initiatives in emerging technology and online/mobile financial services as Head of Global Innovation Team. He also held positions in corporate planning, accounting, corporate finance, and retail customer services at the bank. He is one of the founders of FINOVATORS, a mentor group consists of FinTech experts. He also became an external board member at new digital bank, UI Bank, when it acquired a banking license in 2021.

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  Hideyuki Takahashi

  Chairman,CCS Management LLC
  Energy Impact Partners LP / Senior Advisor
  Patomak Global Partners, LLC / Senior Advisor

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  Hideyuki entered Nomura Securities Co.,……

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  Hideyuki Takahashi

  Chairman,CCS Management LLC
  Energy Impact Partners LP / Senior Advisor
  Patomak Global Partners, LLC / Senior Advisor

  Hideyuki entered Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. in 1979, where he gained experience working in Luxembourg, Germany, and the United Kingdom and he served various positions such as CEO and President of Nomura Holding America Inc. He served as Director and Chairman of State Street Trust and Banking Co.,Ltd.from 2014 to July 2024.

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  Mio Takaoka

  Partner, DNX Ventures
  External Board Director, Septeni Holdings Inc., Kayac Inc., Hennge K.K., Dentsu Soken Inc.

  Mio started her career at Goldman Sachs……

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  Mio Takaoka

  Partner, DNX Ventures
  External Board Director, Septeni Holdings Inc., Kayac Inc., Hennge K.K., Dentsu Soken Inc.

  Mio started her career at Goldman Sachs, and over the course of 18 years within the finance industry, gained experience across trading, M&A, and Venture Capital, including serving as the Executive Director and General Manager of the New Business Planning Office at Monex Group, Inc. in addition to serving as the Managing Director of Monex Ventures Inc. and Partner at Arbor Ventures.

  Mio received her BA in Natural Sciences (Physics) from Cambridge University, and over the course of her career, has been invited to speak at various international and Japanese events, including the World Economic Forum (Summer Davos) at Tianjin in 2016.