Paul Ford Partner, Deal Advisory, Head of Private Equity KPMG FAS CO., LTD.

Paul Ford leads KPMG Japan’s Private Equity Deal Advisory and Transaction Services practices, with over 20 years of deal execution and industry experience in Japan, Hong Kong and Canada.  In this capacity, Paul directly acts for global private equity clients operating in Japan, and leads KPMG’s broader support of domestic Japanese private equity funds and their portfolio companies.  Paul also focuses on the technology sector more broadly, helping Japanese technology leaders such as Rakuten and SoftBank execute their global M&A program.

Paul also leads KPMG’s Japan Deal Advisory digital transformation initiative and ASPAC Value Creation Center of Excellence, exploring how data and analytics can transform the insights KPMG delivers to clients in-deal and post-deal, in particular to help private equity clients identify hidden value attributes during the diligence phase and execute the value creation agenda post-deal.

In addition to 15 years with KPMG, Paul has held executive management roles in the PE and technology industries, including the senior Finance role in a venture-backed life sciences software company. Paul is a permanently Japan-based partner of KPMG FAS Co., Ltd.

Toby Rodes Co-Founder KANAME CAPITAL

Toby Rodes co-founded Kaname Capital in 2018 to bring deep fundamental analysis and engaged ownership to Japanese small caps, a deep pool of operationally capable companies with strong product focus that too frequently suffer a material valuation discount because of substandard governance practices. Passive and conflicted "allegiant" shareholders have simply refused to hold boards accountable across the market cap spectrum for delivering on their potential ROE, a core reason for Japan's multi decade economic malaise. Kaname aspires to be a thoughtful, involved, and long-term "principal" owner of quality businesses with substantial valuation rerating potential. Prior to co-founding Kaname, Toby spent 12 years at Boston based institutional manager GMO in the Fundamental Active Team, where he managed roughly $4bn in both large and small cap equities in Japan. His greatest professional interest has always been in the small cap discipline where his Japanese language skills and ability to create relationships with management teams led to an informational advantage. His professional career started in the “Think Tank” trenches of Washington DC before moving to Japan from 1993 to 2004, first as a Rotary Japan Ambassadorial Scholar and later for graduate work at Keio University, Tokyo. His investment career started in equity research at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Nikko Salomon Smith Barney in Tokyo where he led some high-profile IPOs but determined his calling was the buyside. After ten years of living in Japan, he attended the Harvard Kennedy School in 2003 which served as an intellectual bridge to GMO. He is presently spending half the year in Japan as well as serving on the Japan Society of Boston’s Board of Directors.

Nicholas Smith Japan Strategist CLSA

Nicholas Smith has ranked No.1 for Japan strategy in Asiamoney’s Brokers Poll eight years in a row from 2013 to 2020 then a ninth time in 2022. He writes a popular weekly strategy report called Benthos, whose name means the creatures that live at the bottom of the sea - reflecting a value-oriented and activist slant to the market as well as his passion for deep diving. Nicholas has been in Japan since 1987, covering Japanese equities since 1990. He first came to Japan as British Universities and Royal Navy & Royal Marines judo champion, before joining Jardine Fleming Securities in the tumult of 1990. During his 10 years there, he ranked No.1 in the chemicals & oil sector and was head of the global oil & chemicals team. He then worked for four years in hedge funds, making investments across all sectors. Nicholas joined CLSA in 2011. He has a BSc in Physics from London University and is fluent in Japanese.

Jesper Koll Executive Director MONEX GROUP & JAPAN CATALYST FUND

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986.Over the past two decades, Jesper has been recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1stretail investor based corporate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees, including Governor Yuriko Koike’s Advisory Board. Jesper serves as Board Director of OIST, the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology and is a Founder of the Asia Society Japan and heads their Policy Committee. He is one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives. He has written three books in Japanese and, in 2021, created the video/pod-cast series “Japan - Capitalism that works”. 

Jesper is an economist, angel-investor, patron; and yes, a Japan Optimist. 

Nels Hansen Partner WHITE & CASE

Nels Hansen is a partner in our Corporate/M&A practice group, based in Tokyo. He has helped clients complete hundreds of billions of dollars in completed mergers and acquisitions, hostile or contested transactions, investments and joint ventures, acting primarily for technology, media and telecommunications companies, energy-related companies and private equity and venture capital funds.

He also has assisted numerous targets of activist shareholder situations in the US and Japan. This experience, together with mandates on behalf of engagement and/or activist hedge funds themselves in the US and Japan, helps our Tokyo team to guide Japanese and international clients in activist shareholder situations with a uniquely global perspective and understanding of both sides of the table.

His assistance of international clients with public and private company targeted M&A in the US, Japan and Europe, and private equity and venture capital investment in Asia, Europe and the US, form the core of his practice. In 2018, the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia-Pacific Awards selected Nels as a 'Commended' lawyer in the 'Accessing New Capital and Markets' category for assisting a client in a combined venture capital and project financing.

Nels has served on the Japanese Law Translation Council of the Ministry of Justice since April 2020. Since 2015, Nels has served at Keio Law School as the lecturer for the course "M&A and Strategic Alliances." Nels previously worked in Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry and at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade & Industry.

He is a member of the Tokyo Bar Association.