AVCJ Private Equity Forum Japan 2025
Connect, strategise, and succeed in Japan’s private markets
Day 1
Lead Sponsors
EQT
https://eqtgroup.comEQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 246 billion in total assets under management (EUR 134 billion in fee-generating assets under management), divided into two business segments: Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence, and market leadership.
General Atlantic
https://www.generalatlantic.comGeneral Atlantic is a leading global growth investor with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 520 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980, General Atlantic continues to be a dedicated partner to visionary founders and investors seeking to build dynamic businesses and create long-term value. Guided by the conviction that entrepreneurs can be incredible agents of transformational change, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with and scale innovative businesses around the world. The firm leverages its patient capital, operational expertise, and global platform to support a diversified investment platform spanning Growth Equity, Credit, Climate, and Sustainable Infrastructure strategies. General Atlantic manages approximately $100 billion in assets under management, inclusive of all strategies, as of October 1, 2024, with more than 900 professionals in 20 countries across five regions.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
https://www.gsam.comGoldman Sachs Asset Management delivers investment and advisory services across public and private markets for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, overseeing more than $2.8 trillion in assets under supervision as of December 31, 2023.
The business is driven by a focus on partnership and shared success with its clients, seeking to deliver long-term investment performance drawing on its global network and deep expertise across industries and markets.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management is one of the largest managers of private capital globally and invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and sustainability.
Harbour Vest
https://www.harbourvest.comHarbourVest is an independent, global private markets firm with 40 years of experience and more than $125 billion assets under management as of December 31, 2023. Our interwoven platform provides clients access to global primary funds, secondary transactions, direct co-investments, real assets and infrastructure, and private credit.
NSSK
http://www.nsskjapan.com/enNippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko Ltd. (NSSK) is an investment firm established in 2014 and a leader in Japan’ s middle market for buyout transactions.
NSSK believes that implementing an Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) policy is socially responsible and can also improve the returns in our investment portfolio. Since the establishment of NSSK, we have embedded the ESG principles in our investment process.
In addition to its flagship funds, NSSK currently manages a total of five investment funds dedicated to impact investing in regional markets in Japan. Major ESG highlights for our portfolio companies include a 12% increase in the number of jobs, 40% of CEO/COOs being Women or Minorities, 78% of our total employee base of over 5,000 being Women, and 49% of managerial positions being held by Women. NSSK is a UN PRI Signatory and the first Japan based GP to become a signatory of the Operating Principles for Impact Management. Please visit www.nsskjapan.com to read about the successful and exciting ESG outcomes and initiatives driven by NSSK’s employees as highlighted in our ESG Annual Report.
Asia Series Sponsor
KPMG
https://www.kpmg.com/jpKPMG is a leading provider of Audit, Tax and Advisory services to private equity worldwide.
Our Private Equity group brings together our top transaction advisory, deal origination, technology, value creation, and tax professionals to support our clients with global best practices and local expertise in every situation. We combine industry specialization with a deep understanding of the requirements of private equity as we help our clients grow portfolio value and achieve outstanding returns over the entire investment cycle.
We help our clients execute deals with greater insight, confidence, speed, and decision-making quality. Post investment, we help private equity funds and their portfolio companies identify and grow value in a diverse range of areas such as aligning IT strategy with the business model, turning ESG into a competitive advantage, optimizing operations to unlock cash and grow earnings, digitally empowering the business with new technologies, and many others. Depending on the exit route, we also help prepare companies for IPO or manage the sale process. In addition, we help private equity and their portfolios achieve effective tax compliance and manage tax risks while controlling costs and enhancing returns.
KPMG – Dedicated to Private Equity. Dedicated to your success.
Co-Sponsors
10 Bridge Capital
https://10bridge.co.th10 Bridge Capital (formerly Hatton Equity Partners), established in 2016, is a Thailand-based investment firm founded by a team of seasoned professionals with extensive local networks and expertise across various industries. The firm focuses on investments in specialty manufacturing, consumer and retail, SaaS and business services, F&B and hospitality, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and education sectors. With a geographical preference for Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, 10 Bridge Capital manages assets up to USD 280 million.
The firm sources over 96% of its deals through proprietary relationships developed from its deep local network and strategic partnerships. This approach enables 10 Bridge Capital to access unique investment opportunities and support the growth of businesses in the region.
Adam Street
http://www.adamsstreetpartners.comAdams Street Partners is a global private markets investment manager with investments in more than thirty countries across five continents. Adams Street’s 90+ investment professionals focus on five strategies: primary fund partnerships, secondary transactions, co-investments, direct growth equity company investments, and private credit deals. Adams Street strives to generate actionable investment insights across market cycles by drawing on 50 years of private markets experience, proprietary intelligence, and trusted relationships. The firm is 100% employee-owned and has $51 billion in assets under management. Adams Street maintains a worldwide presence with offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, London, Menlo Park, Munich, New York, Seoul, Singapore, and Tokyo.
Advantage Partners
http://www.advantagepartners.com/en/Advantage Partners was founded by Richard Folsom and Taisuke Sasanuma in 1997 and is a leading provider of services to private equity and similar funds focused on the Japanese and Asian markets. Advantage Partners has been providing services to funds since 1997, when the firm established the first buyout fund in Japan. Funds served by Advantage Partners have invested in more than 120 companies representing total invested capital of over JPY400 billion across a wide range of industries and sectors. Advantage Partners has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, and has plans to open an office in Mumbai later this year.
Bain & Company
https://www.bain.comWe're a global consultancy that helps the world’s most ambitious change makers define the future.
Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes.
Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today’s urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment.
We earned a platinum rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 1% of all companies.
Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry.
Bain Capital
http://www.baincapital.comBain Capital, LP is one of the world’s leading private investment firms with approximately $185 billion of assets under management that creates lasting impact for our investors, teams, businesses, and the communities in which we live. Since our founding in 1984, we’ve applied our insight and experience to organically expand into several asset classes including private equity, credit, public equity, venture capital and real estate. We leverage our shared platform to capture cross-asset class opportunities in strategic areas of focus. With offices on four continents, our global team aligns our interests with those of our investors for lasting impact.
Beyond Next Ventures
https://beyondnextventures.comBeyond Next Ventures stands at the forefront of venture capital in Japan, specializing in seed and early-stage investments in the deep-tech sector. Our focus is on startups that are making a global impact, particularly in healthcare, drug discovery and biotech, agritech and foodtech, digital, space, and climate tech. We partner with entrepreneurs at or before the seed stage, guiding them to successful IPOs and M&As. Our proven expertise and extensive network have positioned us as one of Japan's top-performing venture capital firms. In July 2024, we raised 25.7 billion yen (US$173m) for our 3rd flagship fund, which was oversubscribed. As of March 2025, our AUM is over 48 billion yen (US$324m). We believe in the power of deep-tech scientific innovations to enrich the world, supporting researchers with business planning, building strong management teams, shared lab space, and financing. By fostering a collaborative ecosystem, we drive the creation of new business models and ensure that future generations benefit from continuous advancements in science and technology.
BlackRock
https://www.blackrock.com/corporateBlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable.
Chrys Capital
http://www.chryscapital.comFounded in 1999, ChrysCapital is one of the largest and most established India-focused private equity firms. By any measure, ChrysCapital’s track record is one the strongest in the context of Indian private equity – $4 billion raised across 8 funds, 86 investments, and 67 full exits. The firm has fully realized five successive funds on schedule with strong US$ net returns, which is unprecedented not just in India, but potentially also emerging markets in general. Overall, ChrysCapital has invested $3.0 billion and realized $5.3 billion, which equates to a disproportionately high share of total PE realizations from India. The firm has achieved all this while maintaining one of the lowest loss ratios and fee drags in the industry (~15% fee-to-invested capital vs 20-25% for the industry).
CIBC
https://www.cibc.comCIBC Caribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal banking and business clients. Through its three major business units - Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets - CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world.
CIBC Caribbean is a relationship bank offering a full range of market leading financial services through our Corporate Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Private Wealth segments (incorporating Fund & Trust Services). We are located in ten countries around the Caribbean, providing banking services through approximately 2,700 employees in 45 branches and offices, with US$13 billion in assets and market capitalization of US$1 billion.
CIBC Caribbean’s knowledge of banking has been gained through a combined experience of almost 250 years in the Caribbean through our heritage organisations, Barclays PLC and CIBC.
We also have a representative office in Hong Kong that provides Fund Administration and Trust Services. The award-winning team in Asia comprises industry veterans with specialist industry knowledge to provide comprehensive support to Alternative Investment Funds via a range of tailored services.
CVC
https://www.cvc.comCVC Capital
CVC is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm with a network of 25 offices throughout Europe, Asia and the US, with approximately €137 billion of assets under management. CVC has six complementary strategies across private equity, secondaries and credit, for which we have secured commitments in excess of €165 billion from some of the world's leading institutional investors across its private equity and credit strategies. Funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in over 100 companies worldwide, which have combined annual sales of approximately €100 billion and employ more than 550,000 people. For further information about CVC please visit: www.cvc.com.
CVC Asia
CVC has one of the largest and longest-established pan-regional office networks of any private equity business in Asia and has been active in the region since 1999. CVC's Asia private equity strategy is focused on control, co-control and structured minority investments in high quality businesses in core consumer and services sectors across Asia. Typical enterprise values are between $250 million and $1.5 billion. For further information about CVC’s Asia Pacific funds please visit: www.cvc.com/private-equity/asia.
Globis Capital Partners
http://www.globiscapital.co.jp/enGlobis Capital Partners is one of Japan's leading independent venture capital firm that primarily invests in Japanese startups from early stage to pre-IPO stage. Globis has managed seven funds totaling over JPY 180 billion, including latest Globis VII (final closed in March 2023 at JPY 72.7billion). All closed funds were ranked in the top quartile in global VC benchmarks in their respective vintage years, and it has multiple unicorn and unicorn potential startups in its current portfolio. About 90% of LPs are institutional investors both from and outside of Japan. 
Globis almost always leads rounds and provides hands-on management support to its portfolio companies through board participation by its capitalists as well as tactical support by its value-add team GCP X. In addition, in April 2023 Globis opened a new office in San Francisco to strengthen support for the global expansion of its portfolio companies.
With its unique combination of western style investment expertise obtained through a joint venture with Apax Partners and Japan-local business expertise through Globis Group, which runs No.1 MBA program in Japan, Globis continues to lead the VC market in Japan.
JAFCO
https://www.jafco.co.jp/englishJAFCO Group is a leading investment management company operating venture capital and buyout funds. Since its foundation in 1973, JAFCO Group has established the first venture capital fund in Japan in 1982 and pioneered Japanese buyout funds in 1998. We have 100+ professionals of venture capital, buyout investment, business development, and fund management in Japan, Asia, and the United States.
In venture investment, we pursue the creation of new businesses together with entrepreneurs. In buyout investment, we guide companies looking for renewed growth through a “second start,” enabling them to achieve enduring growth and expansion.
The total capital commitments of its investment funds to date in Japan and overseas have exceeded 1 trillion yen and the number of portfolio IPOs to date has reached over 1,000.
Our purpose is “Fueling perpetual growth; investing in bold visions.” We continue to invest in bold visions of companies and entrepreneurs, based on its conviction that continued investment leads to the realization of a sustainable society.
L Catterton
https://www.lcatterton.comL Catterton is a market-leading consumer-focused investment firm, managing approximately $33 billion of equity capital across three multi-product platforms: private equity, credit, and real estate. Leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad network of strategic relationships, L Catterton's team of more than 200 investment and operating professionals across 17 offices partners with management teams to drive differentiated value creation across its portfolio. Founded in 1989, the firm has made over 250 investments in some of the world's most iconic consumer brands.
Lexington Partners
http://www.lexingtonpartners.comLexington Partners is a leading global alternative investment manager primarily involved in providing liquidity solutions to owners of private equity and other alternative investments and in making co-investments alongside leading private equity sponsors. Lexington Partners is one of the largest managers of secondary acquisition and co-investment funds with $55 billion in committed capital since inception. Lexington has acquired over 3,900 secondary and co-investment interests through more than 1,000 transactions with a total value in excess of $69 billion, including $17 billion of syndications. Lexington also invests in private investment funds during their initial formation and has committed to more than 550 new funds in the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Lexington has offices strategically located in major centers for private equity and alternative investing - New York, Boston, Menlo Park, London, Hong Kong, Santiago, São Paulo and Luxembourg.
Linnovate Partners
https://www.linnovatepartners.comLinnovate Partners is a leading asset services provider focused on driving innovation in the alternative investments industry. With expertise across the entire fund lifecycle, Linnovate Partners goes beyond traditional fund administration to provide value-added services and technologies that empower asset and fund managers to excel in their operations. Its six core service areas include:
- Fund Administration
- Investor Relations
- Regulatory Compliance
- Portfolio Monitoring
- Reporting Services
- Consulting Services
Powering these services is a proprietary, cloud-based platform, RAISE, that provides all the functions of alternative investing in a single ecosystem and enables seamless integration and accessibility. With offices globally, Linnovate Partners currently administers over $120 billion in assets across more than 600 private equity and venture capital funds. As an innovation-focused disruptor, Linnovate Partners combines deep industry expertise and the latest technologies to drive better outcomes for alternative investment managers and investors worldwide.
Morgan Stanley IM
https://www.morganstanley.com/imMorgan Stanley Investment Management strives to provide outstanding long-term investment performance, service, and a comprehensive suite of investment management solutions to a diverse client base, which includes governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Morgan Stanley Investment Management, together with its investment advisory affiliates, has more than $1.7 trillion in assets under management or supervision as of December 31, 2024. Professionals across the globe draw upon these capabilities to develop strategies that address a wide range of investors’ needs across the public and private markets.
Permira
http://www.permira.comPermira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds with total assets under management of €80bn+ across two core asset classes, private equity and credit. The Permira private equity funds have made 300+ investments in five key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Healthcare, Services and Climate. Permira Credit is one of Europe’s leading specialist credit investors, supporting businesses with flexible financing solutions across Direct Lending, CLO Management and Strategic Opportunities. Permira employs over 500 people in 16 offices across Europe, the United States and Asia.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
https://www.stblaw.comSimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (www.simpsonthacher.com) is one of the world’s leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has approximately 1,500 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe.
The Firm regularly advises on market-defining fundraisings in Japan and has incomparable experience advising clients on fundraisings for Japan-focused funds. Complementing the Firm’s global preeminent private funds practice, our Japan team offer advice on funds across asset classes and strategies, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, energy/renewable energy, secondaries, technology and growth/venture, as well as on SMAs and other alternative investment products and strategies.
Active in Asia for almost three decades, Simpson Thacher advises on transactions and matters throughout the region, including in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. We offer one of the largest on-the-ground teams, with multiple language capabilities, including Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. Our Tokyo and Hong Kong-based funds lawyers practice New York, English and Hong Kong law.
T Capital
https://www.tcap.co.jp/english/index.htmlT Capital Partners is a pioneer of private equity firm in Japan. T Capital has been engaged in the buyout investment business for over 25 years since establishing its first fund in 1998, at the inception of the Japanese private equity market. T Capital have established six funds with a cumulative total of approximately 220 billion yen under management and have consistently secured stable investments and investment performance. Most recently, T Capital established the sixth fund (approx. 80 billion yen) in 2020 and the fifth fund (approx. 50 billion yen) in 2016, contributing to support corporate growth. T Capital focus on mid-sized companies that have core corporate capabilities, those which hold good technology or business models unsurpassed by others. All investment professionals sincerely work together under our slogan “Trust” to solve the management issues of our portfolio companies to "make good companies even better companies.
The Longreach Group
http://www.longreachgroup.comThe Longreach Group is an established independent private equity firm with offices in Hong Kong and Tokyo. The Firm focuses on Japan related control buyouts in the industrial and technology, consumer related and business services sectors. The Firm manages four Funds which have accumulated approximately US$2.7 billion of committed limited partner and co-investment capital and has a strong track record of portfolio company value creation and realizations.
Longreach currently has 19 investment professionals located in Tokyo and Hong Kong. The firm also enjoys the support of prominent and highly committed Advisors located in Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore, London, New York, and Dallas.
Wellington Management
https://www.wellington.com/en/private-equityTracing its history to 1928, Wellington Management is one of the world’s largest independent investment management firms, serving as a trusted adviser to over 3,000 clients in more than 60 countries. The firm manages more than US$1.2 trillion, including US$35+ billion in alternatives. As a private partnership whose only business is investment management, the firm is able to align its long-term views and interests with those of its clients. The firm offers comprehensive investment management capabilities that span nearly all segments of the global capital markets, including equity, fixed income, multi-asset, sustainable investing, and alternative strategies as well as private assets.
Our private equity team includes specialists who draw on our backgrounds as entrepreneurs, doctors, and scientists. We tap into the firm’s broad investment capabilities, and believe our reputation, deep industry expertise, and asset size attract a wide range of potential private investments. We invest globally in a wide range of deals across the private market spectrum and are able to invest in small private companies as well as participate in large capital raises.
All figures are for the Wellington Management Group of companies as of 31 December 2024.
WERU Investment
https://www.weruinvest.comWERU Investment is the first university-fueled asset management company in Japan. Our goal is to drive innovation and corporate growth through the capital market. We hold a discretionary investment management license in Japan and manage VC, PE, equity, and credit funds catering to our clients’ needs.
In our venture capital investment, we invest in global seed and early stage technology startups, investing in innovation and new businesses not only in Japan but around the world. In particular, we build original hypotheses from insights garnered through abductive research of industry and technology trends, taking a long-term perspective in investment and support of seed and early stage startups to grow as born-global companies.
Cocktail Sponsor
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
https://www.stblaw.comSimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (www.simpsonthacher.com) is one of the world’s leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has approximately 1,500 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe.
The Firm regularly advises on market-defining fundraisings in Japan and has incomparable experience advising clients on fundraisings for Japan-focused funds. Complementing the Firm’s global preeminent private funds practice, our Japan team offer advice on funds across asset classes and strategies, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, energy/renewable energy, secondaries, technology and growth/venture, as well as on SMAs and other alternative investment products and strategies.
Active in Asia for almost three decades, Simpson Thacher advises on transactions and matters throughout the region, including in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Southeast Asia and Taiwan. We offer one of the largest on-the-ground teams, with multiple language capabilities, including Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. Our Tokyo and Hong Kong-based funds lawyers practice New York, English and Hong Kong law.
Speakers
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Tim Burroughs is managing editor of Asian Venture Capital Journal, having joined the publication in May 2011. He is responsible for all editorial content put out under the AVCJ brand, including Asian Venture Capital Journal, AVCJtv, AVCJ Awards and AVCJ.com. Tim previously spent five years at China Economic Review, serving as editor-in-chief and then editorial director. Located in Greater China since 2003, during which time he has lived in Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong, Tim has been a China-based contributor for publications including The Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, BBC and China Daily. Prior to moving to China, he trained and worked as a journalist in the UK. He was honored at the Society of Publishers in Asia awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and at the State Street Institutional Press Awards - Asia in 2012.
John Lee is a Partner responsible for the Asia business of Lexington Partners. Based in Hong Kong, he is primarily engaged in the origination and evaluation of secondary purchases of private equity investments in Asia.
Prior to joining Lexington in 2014, Mr. Lee was a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions team at Morgan Stanley.
Mr. Lee graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in Economics.
Isamu is a Partner and a member of the Client Service Team. He works closely with clients in the management of their portfolios, including providing assistance in the development and monitoring of their private equity programs. Additionally, he is actively involved in the portfolio construction and ongoing monitoring of the various fund of funds programs and separate accounts. Isamu is also involved in the development of consultant relationships.
Isamu spent 15 years with UBS Global Asset Management as a Managing Director and Head of Pension Funds Marketing. As a senior member of the Tokyo team, he was responsible for business development and relationship management of large institutional clients/consultants in Japan.
From 1990 to 1998, Isamu worked for LTCB, a Japanese bank for FX administration, corporate finance including company due diligence for loan lending, client relationship management and business development.
Isamu is a certificated member of the Securities Analyst Association of Japan (CMA).
Mr. Mitsui joined Advantage Partners in October 2024. Prior to this, he was a Senior Partner at Bain & Company Japan, where he led the Tokyo office’s healthcare and life-science practice and its performance improvement practice. Before working at Bain, he was a Managing Partner at PwC Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) in Tokyo from 2017 to 2020, where he founded and led the Japan PE Strategy and Value Creation Practice. Throughout his career in management consulting, he led numerous large scale transformation programs for Japanese and overseas corporations across a variety of industries such as pharma, med-tech, manufacturing, financial services, and infrastructure. He first started his career at Nomura Research Institute, Ltd., as an urban and regional planner in 1989. He holds a B.Eng and M.Eng in engineering from the university of Tokyo, and an MCP (Master in City Planning) from MIT. He is a member of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives.
Yizhe Chen is a Principal based in Tokyo. He has been involved in investments including Primo Japan, Wendy’s First Kitchen, C-United (formed through the merger of Kohikan, Chat Noir, and Café de CRIE), Wellness Communications, J-CEP, and Shin Nihon Jusetsu Group, particularly focusing on developing growth strategies, accelerating digital transformation, and leading acquisitions and global expansion. Prior to joining Longreach, Yizhe was a Manager at A.T. Kearney. Yizhe has a Master of Engineering from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from the London Business School.
Nash is the Global Head of the MS Private Equity Secondaries team and investment committee member. With more than 22 years of industry experience, Nash is the lead portfolio manager for all of MSIM’s funds that are focused on GP-Led single asset secondaries. During his tenure, Nash has either led or participated in every GP-Led continuation vehicle transaction executed by the team. Prior to originating the secondary strategy at Morgan Stanley, he was a member of the quantitative strategy group supporting the MSIM value equity teams. Nash received a B.A. in economics and German from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Tetsu Onitsuka joined EQT Partners in October 2021 and is a partner in the BPEA EQT team. Prior to joining EQT, Tetsu was a founding member and Managing Director of Japan Post Investment Corporation, which managed approximately USD 1 billion in private equity funds. Prior to Japan Post Investment, he worked at TPG Capital for over ten years, ultimately running TPG’s Japan business. He also previously worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. Tetsu received a Bachelor of Arts with High Distinction from Harvard College, and a Master of Business Administration with High Distinction (Baker Scholar) from Harvard Business School.
Jun Tsusaka is CEO, CIO and Chairperson of the ESG Committee of Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko Ltd. (NSSK), an investment firm established in 2014 and focused on Japan’ s middle market. NSSK currently manages five investment funds (including its flagship fund and regional impact funds) on behalf of Japanese and international government and private sector pension plans, institutional investors, endowments and family offices.
Prior to Founding NSSK, from 2006, Jun Tsusaka was a Global Partner, Investment Committee Member and Partner Selection Committee Member for TPG Capital and was responsible for establishing and building up the Japan investment and operating team, which make up the core of NSSK today.
Jun Tsusaka is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School and has an Advanced Management Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from MIT. He is a former Business Trustee of Japan’s Bankruptcy Court, is a member of the Keizai Doyukai and Seiwajuku and the President of the Harvard Club of Japan.
Tatsuya Kubo joined the Firm in 2010 as a managing director. He focuses on enhancing and building relationships with institutional investors and general partners in Japan. Mr. Kubo joined the Firm from Fortress Investment Group Japan, where he served as Managing Director and Head of Business Development after launching the Japan-based business. Prior to that, he spent over 20 years as a senior manager at Norinchukin Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in Japan, where he built and managed an alternative investment portfolio. He received a BA in Economics from Waseda University in 1988 and an MBA from Duke University in 1994. Mr. Kubo speaks fluent Japanese and English.
Mr. Nishizawa is Head of Investment Advisory at Japan Post Investment. He has been consistently involved in private equity investment at Japan Post Bank, Daido Life and AI Capital, accumulating over 20 years of experience in private equity investments since 2002. After serving as the Head of Private Equity Investment at Daido Life, he joined Japan Post Bank in 2016, where he led portfolio development from the inception of Japan Post Bank's private equity investment program. He is a graduate of Hokkaido University and is a Certificate-holder Member of SAAJ.
Satoshi Fukushima is a Partner at Globis Capital Partners (GCP). He leads investments in problem-solving startups, with a focus on the healthcare and lifestyle sectors, and managed fund-raising for GCP's 7th fund (JPY 73B). His track record includes Medley (4480) and has served on the boards of Kakehashi (SaaS for pharmacies), AI Medical Service (an endoscopic AI company), and others. Prior to joining GCP in 2014, he worked at Deutsche Securities Inc., where he led fundraising and cross-border M&A transactions. He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo in 2007.
Kengo started his career as a venture capitalist at JAFCO in April 2003. He gained extensive experience in a wide range of operations covering investment, fund formation and management, and legal affairs, through several different departments.
He joined Beyond Next Ventures in March 2015 as a key founding member and assumed the position of Representative Director in October 2023. While overseeing fund management and all corporate operations, he was also in charge of investment activities.
His IPO track record includes QD Laser (February 2021) and SUSMED (December 2021), the latter of which he supported from the seed stage.
He graduated from the Faculty of Law, Chuo University.
Kiichiro is a venture capitalist at WERU Investment, the oldest university affiliated venture capital firm in Japan. He leads investment research at the firm, covering a broad range of technology and industry domains. He serves on the board of multiple portfolio companies including LeoLabs and Confidencial, leading startups in the space and cybersecurity domains.
Prior to joining WERU Investment, Kiichiro led technology-focused business development efforts at startups in the US and Japan. He began his career as an aerospace engineer working on spacecraft development at NASA/JPL and industry. Kiichiro holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering with Highest Honors from Georgia Tech.
Yutaro Saka joined JAFCO in 2012. His main investments include Money Forward, Chartwork, and WACUL. He was ranked No.2 in 2017 and No.9 in 2021 on the Forbes Japan's Midas List of most influential venture capital investors in Japan.
Other than investment operations, he has experience serving as CFO of a portfolio company and, as a member of the business development team, he has built the respective foundation of the current sales/marketing, HR, and back-office support operations. He has been Partner since June 2022.
Jim Verbeeten leads Bain & Company’s Private Equity and Financial Investor practice in Tokyo. He has more than 20 years of management consulting experience. Jim advises private equity clients on commercial due diligence assignments in a variety of industries and has supported clients with fund strategy and performance improvement of their portfolio companies. Jim also leads the development of Bain’s annual Japan Private Equity report. He first joined Bain's Amsterdam office in 1999 and has worked in Europe, North America and Asia. He has been based out of the Tokyo office since 2007.
Azusa Owa is an expert in Private Equity and Financial Investor practice. She has extensive consulting experience across a range of industries and business topics in Japan, the United States and Australia, focusing on supporting private equity clients on commercial due diligence assignments and post-acquisition value creation in a variety of industries in. Azusa graduated with a master's degree in international education policy from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in education from International Christian University. She earned her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, double majoring to earn a master of international studies (in Mandarin Chinese) from the university's Lauder Institute.
Toshitaka (Taka) Shimizu is a Partner in the Asia fund of L Catterton, leading buyout and growth investments in Japan since opening its Tokyo office in 2018. He has around 15 years of private equity experience. Prior to joining L Catterton in 2017, Mr. Shimizu worked at CLSA Capital Partners Sunrise Capital and Rising Japan Equity, focusing on consumer-oriented investments. He holds the Chartered Accountant qualification and graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) / Commerce dual degree from the University of Queensland.
Shohei Akiyama is Partner, a member of NSSK’s five-person Management Committee and is Head of NVP (NSSK Value-Up Program) and Business Support Team at NSSK. Shohei is responsible for value creation initiatives of NSSK’s portfolio companies and all the operation functions in NSSK’s Business Support Team (including accounting, tax, legal and compliance functions). Prior to assuming his current role, Shohei was a Director on the Investment Team and has been with NSSK since its founding. Before joining NSSK, Shohei was at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd. in their Investment Banking Division. At J.P. Morgan, he was responsible for a number of major transactions for Japanese companies including cross-border M&A and global IPOs. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo (B.A.).
Ethan Ling, Managing Director, is the Head of APAC Product Strategy for BlackRock Private Equity Partners (PEP) within BlackRock's Equity Private Markets, where he leads the private equity fundraising strategy, product development, and investor relations in the APAC region. He brings over 20 years of expertise in private markets and, as a member of the PEP Global Executive Committee, drives business growth by aligning client needs with BlackRock's objectives.
Mr. Ling previously served as Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations at CMBI, where he oversaw alternative asset growth initiatives and developed a diverse range of alternative strategies. Prior to CMBI, he held various senior roles at CMC, CPE, and UBS Investment Banking.
Mr. Ling holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Telecommunications from the University of Maryland, College Park. He was also an Individual Promoter, Executive Director, and CFO of the first-ever SPAC listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Eiji Yatagawa (Tokyo) joined KKR in 2006 and is a Partner and Head of Japan Private Equity. He is on the Board of Directors of PHC Holdings (formerly Panasonic Healthcare), Koki Holdings (formerly Hitachi Koki), Seiyu, dataX (formerly From Scratch), Yayoi, and LOGISTEED (formerly Hitachi Transport System). Mr. Yatagawa was also previously involved with KKR’s investments in Unisteel (Singapore), Intelligence, AlphaTheta (formerly Pioneer DJ), Transphorm (USA), Marelli Holdings (formerly Calsonic Kansei), Kokusai Electric (formerly Hitachi Kokusai Electric), and NETSTARS. From 2010 to 2012, he worked in KKR's Hong Kong office. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Yatagawa was with Goldman Sachs & Co.'s investment banking team, based in New York and Tokyo, where he focused on the telecommunications, media, and technology sector and was involved in a number of mergers and acquisitions as well as financing projects. He holds a B.S. and an M.S. from the University of Tokyo.
Atsuhiko Sakamoto is a Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity Group and is based in Tokyo, responsible for the day-to-day management of the Private Equity group's investment activities in Japan. Since joining Blackstone in 2018, Mr. Sakamoto has led all of the firm's private equity investments in Japan including Ayumi, Alinamin, Sony Payment Service, Infocom, I'rom and CMIC.
Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Sakamoto was a Managing Director at Bain Capital where he focused on private equity investments in Japan.
Mr. Sakamoto received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Yale University.
Soichi Sam Takata has been with Tokio Marine Asset Management since the creation of the private equity investment team in 2002. Before that, Mr Takata was at Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance (Tokio Marine) working in their alternative investment team from 1997 to 1998, and again from 2001 onwards, managing a global portfolio of private equity, hedge funds, infrastructure funds, CDOs/CLOs and other alternative assets.
Mr. Takata spent three years at Tokio Marine Capital, Tokio Marine's private equity investment arm, working on management buyout and development capital transactions in Japan. During this period, he also spent time at private equity houses in the US and the UK. Prior to that, he spent over two years on secondment to the Export-Import Bank of Japan (now the Japan Bank for International Cooperation) working on project finance transactions around the world.
Mr Takata began his career in the international investment department of Tokio Marine overseeing an international portfolio of managed assets. He has a BA in economics from Harvard College.
Koji Hamazaki is a Senior Director of Private Market Investment Department and Head of Private Equity at Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). Since joining GPIF in April 2017, he has led the development and implementation of private equity investment strategies across both domestic and global markets.
Prior to joining GPIF, Mr. Hamazaki spent 23 years at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). Beginning in 2005, he played a key role in launching and expanding SMBC’s global private equity investment platform. From 2009 to 2011, he was seconded to a private equity gatekeeper, where he was involved in the formation and investment of fund-of-funds vehicles. He also served as a Group Head at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), where he was responsible for strategic planning for both the securities and asset management businesses.
Mr. Hamazaki holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Keio University and an MBA from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University.
T.J. Kono joined Unison Capital in 2002. He has managed a number of investments in Japan since Unison’s first fund, then led Unison’s expansion to Korea as its founding member. Today, he serves as an Investment Committee member in both Japan and Korea. He has been involved in Unison’s investments in Drug Eleven (Japan), Mine-Mart (Japan), UCOM (Japan), Nexcon Technology (Korea), Gong cha (Korea)/Royal Tea Taiwan (Taiwan), and Minacia (Japan). In addition to investment role, he oversees Unison Group’s investor relations functions. Prior to Unison Capital, he worked at Merrill Lynch Japan.
Mr. Kono has a B.S/B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.
Koji Someno is Head of Private Equity Fund Investment Division of Alternative Investment Department at Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company. Prior to this role, he led infrastructure fund investment, real estate fund investment and private debt fund investment. Early in his career, he worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank(MUTB) before joining Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company in 2017. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and commerce from Keio University.
Managing Partner, Co-Head of Japan, joined CVC in 2015. Atsushi is based in Tokyo and leads our private equity activities in Japan. He is a member of the Asia Private Equity Board and the Asia Executive Committee, a sub-committee of the APEB that oversees and drives our investment activity in the region. Prior to joining CVC, he spent over eleven years at Advantage Partners as a Senior Partner, he led Management and Leveraged BuyOut transactions. Prior to this, he worked for McKinsey & Co., Tokyo, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Atsushi holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Colorado School of Mines, a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from The University of Tokyo.
Based in New York, Brian Musto is a senior investor in Goldman Sachs’ Vintage Strategies. Vintage Strategies, which provide liquidity solutions to private market limited partner investors and general partner fund managers globally, represent a flagship of Goldman Sachs’ alternatives franchise, with leadership in the secondaries space since 1998. Since inception, the Vintage Funds have invested over $80 billion across more than 750 secondary transactions. Brian is a member of the Vintage Strategies Private Equity and Real Estate Investment Committees and the Union Bridge Investment Committee. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2003 in the Financial Institutions Group of the Investment Banking Division and rejoined the firm in 2009 in Vintage Strategies. Prior to rejoining the firm, Brian was a private equity associate at Thomas H. Lee Partners in Boston. He earned a BSBA in Finance and Accounting, magna cum laude, from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School, where he graduated as a Baker Scholar.
Chris is Global Head of Capital Solutions and a member of the Executive Committee at General Atlantic. He leads the firm’s global client franchise, overseeing capital partnering, strategic partnerships, new business development, and capital formation activities across General Atlantic’s investment strategies, which today represent over $100 billion in assets and span global growth equity, private credit, energy transition, and infrastructure solutions.
Previously, Chris was a Partner of Goldman Sachs, where he worked for over 28 years. He founded and led many of the firm's businesses in alternative investments, including its external-manager investing platform in private markets, secondaries, GP stakes, co-investments, and hedge funds, leading those businesses across two decades. Chris also led the global client franchise for Goldman Sachs Asset & Wealth Management, a platform that represented over $2.7 trillion in alternative investments and public market strategies. Elected a Partner in 2008, Chris served on Goldman Sachs’ Partnership Committee, its Firmwide Client Franchise Committee, and its investment committees across the private markets.
Chris is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, has served as Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, and is a frequent commentator and writer on asset management. He serves on the boards of Cambridge in America, The Juilliard School, Asia Society, Collegiate School, and the Leadership Council of Harvard Law School. Originally from the Canadian midwest, he today lives with his family in New York City.
Yuka Hata is a Senior Managing Director and heads Fund Investment Team at Japan Investment Corporation (“JIC”).
Ms. Hata joined JIC in July 2020 in order to build and support Japan’ private equity / venture capital ecosystem as well as to provide the risk capital with the investment funds which bring Japan’s industry to the next stage. Prior to joining JIC, as a co-head of private equity, Ms. Hata worked for Nissay Asset Management where she was mainly responsible for European small-mid buyout, GP stake investments, secondary and Japan’s VC funds. She also worked for Nomura Asset Management (or Nomura Private Equity Capital) and managed fund of funds focused on Asia market as a member of Investment Committee.
Ms. Hata is a Chartered Member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan., and received a B.A. in Environmental Information from Keio University and an M.B.A. from Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales-HEC in Paris.
Toshihide joined T Capital Partners (formerly Tokio Marine Capital) in May 2025. He has over 20 years extensive experience covering financial sponsors, including private equity funds, to provide a broad range of advisory (TOB and curve-out etc.), financing (including IPO) and PE fund related products in investment banking. He founded and led the financial sponsor coverage team at Citigroup Global Markets Japan (formerly Nikko Citigroup) since 2005. Prior to joining T Capital, he was a Managing Director at Nomura International (London) to cover financial sponsors and trading houses to promote and lead cross-border deals after working at Nomura Securities (Tokyo) where he joined in 2017 as a sponsor coverage. He had been involved in a wide range of sectors; TMT, Business Services, C&R, Healthcare, Industrials and Financial Services.
Toshihide has a B.A in Law from Keio University.
Jennifer James is Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Investor Relations & Marketing at Thoma Bravo. Based in San Francisco, she joined the firm in 2015 with 20 years of experience in private equity/venture capital investor relations, fundraising, and marketing. Today she leads Thoma Bravo's business operations strategy, efforts to serve the needs of new and existing investors, and the firm's industry communications programs. Wall Street Journal and WSJ PRO Private Equity named Jennifer one of the Women to Watch in fundraising, and San Francisco Business Times honored her as one of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area. Before Thoma Bravo, she served as Partner, Investor Relations & Marketing, for Sofinnova Ventures. Previously, she served as Director of Marketing & Communications for Alta Partners, and she held several marketing and financial services leadership roles. Jennifer earned her MBA from Northwestern University and her AB degree in History from Bowdoin College.