Our Team

A team with diverse backgrounds—including finance, business development, startup leadership, VC investing, sustainability, consulting, and technology—works to advance sustainability.

Careers

Since our founding, we have built a highly diverse team by hiring individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, and we continue to drive our business forward through this diversity.

We believe that by bringing together the team’s collective expertise—and empowering each person to proactively pursue new business opportunities—we can move closer to solving global challenges.
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Mamoru Taniya
Chairperson

With 30 years in finance and 20+ as an angel investor, he has supported numerous startups and NGOs. At Salomon Brothers, he headed the investment division for Japan and Asia. He later founded Asuka Asset Management and established the PE firm Mercuria Holdings.

He has co-founded ventures such as Lifenet Insurance and Money Design, and serves as Chairman for MNES, R Project, and Discover Japan. He is also the founding representative of UWC ISAK Japan, the country’s first international boarding school.His other roles include Vice Chair of the Tokyo Committee at Human Rights Watch and Councilor of the International House of Japan.

He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law.

Bradley Busetto
Vice Chairperson

Bradley is a leader in sustainable finance and the SDGs. He helped drive sustainable investment initiatives for the United Nations and served as the inaugural director of UNDP Global Centre on Tech, Innovation and Sustainability where he worked with start-ups and venture funds to scale sustainable technologies around the world.

Previously, he established the UN’s first venture incubator and impact fund. And founded the world’s first national SDG innovation lab, which then catalyzed a global network of 100+ innovation labs for the UN.

The California native holds a BA (honours) and a master’s degree in philosophy from Stanford University.

Mari Kogiso
Representative Director, Co-CEO

Mari is an impact investing leader with extensive background in inclusive business, sustainable finance, and social entrepreneurship.

Mari was the global head of diversity and human rights of the Fast Retailing Group. Before, she led the establishment of the Asia Women Impact Fund ($100 million) at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.

Previously Mari held senior positions at the World Bank Group in Washington DC and Tokyo including the representative of MIGA (the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) in Tokyo.

Mari holds a BA in Economics from the University of Tokyo and an MA from the Fletcher School, Tufts University.

Shohei Maekawa
Representative Director, Co-CEO

He engaged in management and strategy consulting as a project manager at Boston Consulting Group, mainly in the area of industrial goods and energy.

Before, he developed business strategy and managed cross-border strategic investment projects in chemical, food, nutrition, and agriculture sector at Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

He was also a Client Relationship Executive for EIRIS, sustainable investment research company (now part of Moody’s ESG solutions) in UK and developed new service for Japanese market and planned new business strategy for the company.

He holds BA in Economics from Keio University and MBA from HEC Paris.

Yuko Oka
Managing Partner

Yuko led institutional sales of Japanese equities at Jardine Fleming Securities (now JP Morgan Securities), Morgan Stanley Securities, and Deutsche Securities.

She also worked for Asuka Asset Management and other independent asset management companies, providing investment solutions to Japanese pension funds, financial institutions, overseas endowments, institutional investors, and family offices. She helped create Money Design, the first robo-advisor in Japan.

She holds BA in Political Science from the Faculty of Law at Keio University

Masashi Yamashita
Managing Partner

Masashi has 38 years of experience in the financial industry since joining The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, and more than 10 years of experience in bank management.

He led the launch of Shinsei Bank to transform its business model and achieve growth.

He was also a board member of LIFENET Insurance, Japan’s first online life insurance company, and Chairman of Japan Wealth Bank, an asset management bank in Hong Kong. From 2016 to 2021, he was President of Lawson Bank, where he built a number of new businesses, including the digital transformation of the ATM business.

Sasja Beslik
Chief Investment Strategy Officer

Sasja has helped catalyze the rise of ESG investing in Europe and the world, and is a recognized thought leader and practitioner in ESG investment space. He launched the Stars fund with Nordea bank in 2011 helped pioneer sustainable investment in Europe, and was awarded Sweden’s outstanding equity fund in 2017.

He was recognized as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum (2011). Sasja serves on various boards and global committees, including the UNPRI Steering Committee and the UNEP Water Working Group, and is a board member of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC).

He graduated from the University of Stockholm, where he studied economics and journalism.

Mikio Yamaguchi
Managing Partner

Mikio started his career at Sony Corporation in Corporate Planning Division and Overseas Branch(London). He then joined RCF’s Reconstruction Support Team and worked on the Great East Japan Earthquake reconstruction support project.

After working in management consulting, he became an entrepreneur, and was the director and COO of Pocket Marche, the ground-breaking company that links small farmers to consumers. At Pocket Marche he led new business development.

He holds BA in Economics from the University of Tokyo.

Nagayuki Kurita
Managing Partner

Provide professional consulting service on climate change measures based on abundant experiences of international CO2 emission trading and reliable networks with western companies and special institutions. Familiar with UNFCCC, international and domestic decarbonization policies.

He has served as a researcher in charge of the environment at Mizuho Corporate Bank, chief consultant at Mizuho Information & Research Institute, representative director at Asuka Green Investment Co., Ltd. and manager of the International Unit of the Environment Business Division at an environmental and energy consulting firm.

He holds MBA from University of Reading, Henley Business School(UK)

Daichi Hirose
Partner

After working at Strategic Value Partners and BASF Venture Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of BASF, he served as a technical advisor on microfinance at Positive Planet, an international NGO founded by Jacques Attali.

He later joined ReNet Japan Group as Senior Executive Officer, where he led the launch of the company’s overseas operations. In Cambodia, he established inclusive business lines—including microfinance, leasing, and microinsurance—which became core drivers of growth and contributed to the company’s successful IPO.

Most recently, he has been engaged in M&A and new business development at a listed digital marketing company.

He holds a BA in Economics from Keio University.

Makiko Horie
Partner

Makiko is a senior finance professional, with an outstanding track record at leading investment firms and finance institutions. She held roles at Merrill Lynch, where she served as senior portfolio manager, and also at Nomura Securities where she was responsible for equity research.

She also worked at Value Create, a management consulting firm, where she advised investor relations (IR) businesses, and corporate venture capital divisions.

She graduated from Kansai University with a degree in Economics. She received MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Saki Suzuki
Manager

Starting her career at Citigroup Global Markets focusing on Fixed Income, she subsequently joined Boston Consulting Group in Tokyo and London. 

At BCG Tokyo, she specialized in the public and social sector and infrastructure areas, working on both domestic and international projects, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia.

In London, she was seconded to the Global Strategy Team at Save the Children International, where she led global strategy execution and operational planning, and coordinated with country and regional offices.

She holds a BA in Political Science from the Faculty of Law at Keio University.

Saki Maekawa
Manager

Saki began her professional career at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), where she supported Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises in pursuing overseas business opportunities.

She later moved to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where she worked on strategy and management consulting projects for clients primarily in the financial institutions and energy sectors. Her project experience covered growth strategy, business transformation, and strategy execution support across various business areas, including sustainability-related fields such as offshore wind and CCS.

During her four years at BCG, she spent one year at the Jakarta office, working closely with local companies in Indonesia and engaging with the Southeast Asian market.

She holds a BA in Political Science from the Faculty of Law at Keio University.

Solene Petitcol
Senior Associate

As a Junior Policy Analyst at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), she managed and supported two global educational initiatives in close partnership with universities and governments.

She had previously worked for an international NGO on an entrepreneurship support project in Nicaragua.
As a native French speaker, she is also proficient in Spanish, English, and Japanese. She joined SDG Impact Japan as an Associate in July 2024, engaging with NEDO on the Moldova Biogas Project under the JCM Demonstration Project.

She holds a BBA from HEC Montreal and a MA in International Relations from the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies of Waseda University.

Hiroki Oh
Senior Associate

Hiroki specializes in international business development within the renewable energy sector. At RENOVA’s Overseas Business Department, he contributed to the development of wind and battery storage projects in South Korea, American Samoa, and Texas, leading research on renewable energy policies, regulatory frameworks, tariffs, and market trends, while managing complex multi-stakeholder coordination.

Fluent in Japanese, Chinese, and English, and with residential experience in Japan, China, the UK, and Germany, he brings a global perspective to strategic initiatives. Hiroki is committed to advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and fostering cross-cultural collaboration to enable sustainable and inclusive growth.

Currently, he coordinates the development of private-sector carbon credit projects under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) at SIJ, driving initiatives that enable corporate decarbonization and support global sustainability goals.

He holds a BA degree from the Faculty of Social Studies at Doshisha University and an MA in Transcultural Studies from Heidelberg University (in partnership with Kyoto University).

Tadashi Maeda
Board Member

Chairman of the Board of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). After working as an assistant at the University of Tokyo, Tadashi joined the Export-Import Bank of Japan (now JBIC) in 1982. After working as a section chief of the Investment Division II of the International Finance Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, a research officer in the General Affairs Department of JBIC, and a representative in Washington, D.C., he was appointed Vice President in 2016 and Representative Director and President in 2018. Since June 2022, he has held his current position.
He was a special advisor to the Cabinet Office in the Government of Japan since June 2010, advising on the New Economic Growth Strategy and the Infrastructure Systems Export Strategy.
He also served as a research fellow at Johns Hopkins University and as a member of the Steering Committee of the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation. Since serving as the Chief Representative of the Trade Finance Subcommittee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development while at the Export-Import Bank of Japan, he has taken part in numerous meetings with foreign heads of government and international conferences.

Tokutaro Nakai
External Board Member

A former Administrative Vice-Minister for the Ministry of Environment. He joined Japan’s Ministry of Finance in 1985. After serving in a number of senior roles, including Budget Examiner at the Budget Bureau at the Ministry of Finance and Counsellor to the Minister’s Secretariat and Director-General of Waste Management and Recycling Department at the Ministry of Environment, he was appointed Administrative Vice-Minister for the Ministry of Environment in 2020.He has also promoted sustainability strategy as an Advisor to Nippon Steel Corporation. In August 2023, he founded the Public Interest Incorporated Foundation “The Millennium Sustainability Foundation”, dedicated to the conservation and improvement of the global environment, and became its inaugural Representative Director.He graduated from the Faculty of Law, The University of Tokyo.

Nobuo Tanaka

Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF)

Former Director General of the International Energy Agency (IEA) (2007-11)

He started his career at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. He is currently CEO of Tanaka Global Inc., Special Fellow of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, External Director of Chiyoda Corporation, External Auditor and supervisory board member of Innotech Corporation, and Senior Executive Advisor of Air Liquide Japan.

He is also a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo’s School of Public Policy, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Center on Global Policy, Columbia University, USA.

He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo and MBA from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

Mats Andersson

Mats served as CEO of the leading pension fund AP4 for 10 years, radically decarbonizing the equity portfolio. He is also a senior advisor to the Rockefeller Foundation, the German Nuclear Decommissioning, and Tobacco Free Portfolios.

Noriyuki Yanagawa

He is a professor at Graduate School of Economics and Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo since 2011.

Prior to this, he was an Associate Professor at Graduate School of Economics and Faculty of Economics, The University of Tokyo and Lecturer at Keio University

His research theme is imperfection of Financial System and Economic Performance, and major key words related to his research theme includes Financial Contract, Financial System, Enforcement, Law and Economics, Bubble, Asset Price, Macro Economics, International Trade, Capital Movement, and Policy Intervention.

He holds B.A. in Economics from Keio University and Ph.D. in Economics, Graduate School of Economics, The University of Tokyo

Maya Hari

Maya is a global leader and C-suite executive in high growth digital and technology companies, including Twitter. She’s the CEO of Terrascope, helping large enterprises on their Net Zero decarbonization journey.

Yoshiki Ishikawa

Public health researcher, M.D..

He is the Director of Innovation at Cancer Scan, Inc. Co-founder of Campus for H, Inc. His areas of expertise include preventive medicine, behavioral chemistry, computational creativity, and conceptual engineering.

He is currently conducting interdisciplinary research with universities on the theme of “What is the meaning of a better life (well-being) for people?”

He holds Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from Harvard School of Public Health, and a PhD in Medicine from Jichi Medical School.

Steve Leonard

He served as CEO of Singularity Univeristy. Prior to Singularity University, he was the Founder CEO of SGInnovate, a Singaporean government agency investing in early stage deep tech, where he invested in deep tech startups and formed a startup community.

He was the Vice Chairman of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), a government statutory body under the Ministry of Communications and Information in Singapore and has held management positions in Europe and Asia for 20 years in global technology companies such as EMC, Symantec and EDS.

Wataru Baba

Senior Fellow, Climate and Sustainability at Panasonic Group since 2022, where he accelerated the company’s growth through an integrated strategy for creating positive impact on climate change and established Sustainability Committee, chaired by the Group CEO. Board Member of Japan Professional Football League (J.League) and Independent Director for a civic technology nonprofit, Code for Japan, and a web3 startup, Financie, Inc