TEAM

Ko Kusumi is the president and CEO of KYOTO-iCAP since April 2020. He was an Executive Officer of KYOTO-iCAP from 2014 to 2020. Prior to this appointment, he was in charge of financing support services, including securitization and syndication, in Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, where he used his financing skills to match the needs of many corporations.
At SMBC venture capital, he managed the buyout fund as the chief of the PE section, and participated in management as an outside board member and advisor for many investments to support the companies. He is a graduate of Faculty of Law, Keio University.

Currently an Investment Officer at KYOTO-iCAP, Dr Nobuhiro Yagi earned a PhD in pharmaceutical Sciences and accrued over 20 years of experience in industry before joining KYOTO-iCAP. He worked for Kyowa Hakko Kirin for 18 years and assumed many different positions, including R&D and Business Development of Biopharmaceutical products. He also served as a scientist for several academic research institutes such as Kyoto University, RIKEN, Tokyo University, and UC San Diego. He has obtained extensive experience in the planning and management of open innovation through industry-academia collaboration and in the development of intellectual property strategies in considering commercialization. In his present position, he focuses on technology driven startups based on Biology, Material science, and Mechanical engineering.

Dr. Hiroyuki Ueno earned his PhD from Osaka University and presently serves as an officer for Kyoto University Innovation Capital. He has invested in life science and healthcare companies and has held board director or observer roles in such firms, including Chordia TX, Thyas, Drawbridge Health, AlphaNavi Pharma, Kola-Gen Pharma, and CleanHearing in the KYOTO-iCAP portfolio. His previous positions include work as a Fellow for Sumitomo Dainippon Pharmaceutical Company and Principal Scientist for Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. He is a widely published author in the fields of genetics, molecular biology, physiology, and drug discovery.

Osami Kono joined KYOTO-iCAP in April 2016 and now leads the Business Development Group with the additional charge of officer in the Investment Group. While at KYOTO-iCAP, He has invested several startups that include cell therapy biotech and new material companies. Before entering KYOTO-iCAP, He spent three years as a researcher with a chemical manufacturer and twenty years as a staff writer at Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. While at Nikkei BP, he covered biotech, finance, heavy industry, IT, etc., and wrote more than three thousand articles. He holds a B.E. in Polymer Chemistry from Kyoto University and an M.A. in Management Science from Tsukuba University.

Kenichi Yotsumoto was in charge of starting companies and funds in Japan and abroad including establishing the iPS Academia Japan, Inc. with Kyoto University, while he was employed in Daiwa Corporate Investment Co., Ltd. and also lectured at several universities, supporting their entrepreneurship education curriculums. Since December 2014, he has been in charge of KYOTO-iCAP. He graduated from the Kyoto University Faculty of Science.

Masayoshi Ohbayashi worked on application development and quality management in Toyobo Co., Ltd. He contributed to the increased adoption and order volume for his company’s products by performing market research, prototype production in the laboratory, licensing, and providing know-how to users. He also established know-how for production and quality control for mass production of developed products. While in charge of the production line in the factory, Ohbayashi managed the production conditions and quality control. His major was systems engineering at the Department of Textile Science and Technology of Shinshu University (master’s degree). He has been in charge of investment in KYOTO-iCAP since January 2017.

Masahiro Shinohara joined KYOTO-iCAP in April 2021. He has various experiences in creating new businesses based on new technologies. Prior to joining KYOTO-iCAP, he engaged in providing consulting services such as business strategy, new business development, business due diligence, with his customers in chemical and healthcare industries at Arthur D. Little Japan. Before Arthur D. Little, he worked for Teijin Limited at chemical product business development, where he was responsible for acquiring new customers in Japan, and overseas and accelerating investment in new production lines. He holds a master degree from the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University.

Dr. Satoru Morita earned a PhD in semiconductor engineering from
the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University.
Since 2005, he has been engaged in research on semiconductor conversion films for medical X-ray imaging equipment at Shimadzu Corporation. He also has researched and developed new devices usingprinted electronics and MEMS technology. He has been seconded to the Cabinet Office since October 2018 for 2 years. After returning to his company, he started to promote the collaboration with Startups. He has been in charge of investment in KYOTO-iCAP since Octorber 2022.

Takane Hosoyama, CFA, joined KYOTO-iCAP in January 2023 as an EIR. He performed as a child actor in his early days as well as worked as a public speaker and a writer regarding the issues of bullying. Prior to joining KYOTO-iCAP, he engaged in research activities as a credit analyst at an asset management firm, covering construction and food & beverage sectors. Before that, he worked for Goldman Sachs Japan, where he was responsible for settlement of JGBs/corporate bonds, and Business Intelligence projects using Alteryx. Based on his experience of keeping pet cats, ducks, and monkeys since childhood, he aims to realize a sustainable society for both animals and humans as an EIR, focusing mainly on issues related to the QOL of animals and preservation of the environment.

Atsushi Alex Mazawa is an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) of KYOTO-iCAP, joined in February 2023. He has 9 years of experience in metals & mineral resources industry as a commodity trader and a corporate venture capitalist in Mitsubishi Corporation, the largest Japanese conglomerate.
In the CVC, he led the investments and strategic collaborations with a NASDAQ-listed startup, global unicorns and industry-leading VC's by leveraging his solid experiences of commodity trading. He has been passionated about launching a deep tech startup that targets global markets with cutting-edge technologies developed in his home country.
Majored in Economics in Waseda University. Fluent in English and Japanese.

Shogo Otani joined the Investment Department of KYOTO-iCAP in April 2023. He began his career at Marubeni Corporation, where he worked in the power sector. Over the course of his career, he was stationed in three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Jamaica. While in Indonesia, he was responsible for the engineering, procurement, and construction of various power plants. He then served as CEO of an operation and maintenance company invested in by Marubeni in Malaysia, as well as Director of a utility company in Jamaica. With his experience in managing various companies and their businesses, he is eager to create innovation based on academia and technology from Japan. He holds a master's degree in Civil Engineering and Architecture from Tohoku University.

Dr. Koji Yokoo joined Investment Group of KYOTO-iCAP in June 2023 being a secondee from Astellas Pharma Inc. He earned his PhD from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University. Prior to joining KYOTO-iCAP, he has been in charge of pharmacokinetics and drug delivery system research at Astellas Pharma Inc. He was mainly involved in early-stage projects with small molecules, peptide, antibody and bacteriophages in the field of immunology, cancer and infectious disease. He has experience in joint research with universities and leading the investment to start-up company.

Dr. Tsuyoshi Tsujimura, Ph.D., MBA, brings over 15 years of experience in drug discovery within the pharmaceutical industry. He has successfully fostered collaborations between his former company and other entities, such as venture capital firms and bio-ventures. His expertise spans various fields, including metabolic syndrome, psychiatry, neurodegenerative disorders, and genetic-related rare diseases.

Furthermore, Dr. Tsujimura has demonstrated his leadership by initiating mergers among subsidiaries and developing global human management and human resource planning strategies within US subsidiaries. In September 2023, Dr. Tsujimura joined KYOTO-iCAP, where he is committed to contributing to open innovation for Kyoto University and Japan.

Ryuhi Kanno is a serial entrepreneur. After engaging in research in the field of life science at Tokyo Institute of Technology, he worked in both venture companies and major corporations, holding positions such as business development and director of business development. He also started a company that promotes career education for National College of Technology students, and has promoted career development for thousands of National College of Technology students and graduates. After selling the company, he was involved in the formation of a new fund at a venture capital firm affiliated with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and led several investment executions in the life science field. As a result of experiencing Japan's startup scene from both the entrepreneur's and investor's perspectives, he noticed a significant absence of "practical methods for launching successful startups." To address this issue, he began mentorship activities for entrepreneurs in my role as an accelerator. Ryuhei Kanno currently serves as an Acceleration Lead at KYOTO-iCAP.