Legal

Outside Director

Akira Kawashiro is an attorney qualified to practice both Japanese law and Illinois law, currently serving as a Partner at Southgate, a law firm in Tokyo. His practice primarily focuses on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture capital investments, and securities regulations. He has also been seconded to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and has a deep knowledge of disclosure regulations.

Akira began his career in 2013 at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, where he engaged in domestic and cross-border M&A and antitrust matters. At Gojo, Akira monitors management from an independent standpoint through board and committee meetings as an Outside Director.

Works in: Japan

Outside Director

Akira Kawashiro is an attorney qualified to practice both Japanese law and Illinois law, currently serving as a Partner at Southgate, a law firm in Tokyo. His practice primarily focuses on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), venture capital investments, and securities regulations. He has also been seconded to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and has a deep knowledge of disclosure regulations.

Akira began his career in 2013 at Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, where he engaged in domestic and cross-border M&A and antitrust matters. At Gojo, Akira monitors management from an independent standpoint through board and committee meetings as an Outside Director.

Works in: Japan

System and Knowledge

Marco studied physics and aerospace engineering, up to doctoral studies at the Sapienza University of Rome and the Japanese Space Exploration Agency (JAXA). Before joining Gojo in 2019, he worked as an engineer and then as a project manager at Axelspace, a maker of small commercial satellites.

At Gojo, Marco participated in several tech initiatives, ranging from DX support for partners around the world to the creation of novel financial service platforms. He led the creation of a digital field application (DFA) as product manager from 2020 to 2022.

Marco reads and writes most of the time. He speaks Japanese and is doing independent research in several scientific fields.

Works in: Tokyo

System and Knowledge

学生時代は物理学と宇宙工学を学び、Sapienza University of Romeと宇宙航空研究開発機構（JAXA）で博士課程を修了。2019年までは超小型人工衛星メーカーの株式会社アクセルスペースで衛星の開発とプロジェクトマネジメントを経験。

2019年に五常に入社、各国のパートナー会社のDXサポートや、革新的な金融サービスプラットフォームの構築など、様々なIT企画に参画。2020～2022年はプロダクトマネージャーとしてデジタルフィールドアプリケーション（DFA）の開発をリード。

日本語が堪能で、読書・執筆に夢中。様々な科学分野において独自で研究している。

勤務地：東京

Legal & Compliance Officer

Starting in August 2024, Ai is responsible for legal and compliance matters at Gojo. She is a qualified attorney-at-law in Japan.

After becoming a registered attorney-at-law in 2012, Ai spent 2.5 years working in the crisis management team of Nishimura & Asahi Law Firm, where she performed internal investigations for client companies, leading to initiating civil litigation, advocating criminal prosecutions, collaborating with relevant authorities/agencies, and providing regulatory guidance to client teams. Subsequently, she joined Mitsubishi Corporation, where she provided comprehensive legal counsel across various corporate and contractual domains, including investments, intellectual property, litigation, implementing policies to meet regulatory compliance, among others.

In her personal life, Ai is a mother of two children. Ai loves pilates, jogging and drawing with her children.

Location: Tokyo

Legal & Compliance Officer

2024年8月より五常の法務及びコンプライアンスを担当。日本法の弁護士。

2012年に弁護士登録をした後、西村あさひ外国法共同事務所の危機管理チームにおいて2年半勤務し、社内調査や民事・刑事の法的措置、当局対応、規制に関する研修等を担当。その後三菱商事株式会社に移籍し、インハウス弁護士として投資、知財、訴訟、コンプライアンス体制整備等の幅広い法務を担当。

プライベートでは2人の幼児の母。ピラティス、ジョギング、子供と絵を描くことが好き。

勤務地:東京

Audit Manager

Deepak has joined the Gojo Group as an Audit Manager in the Internal Audit Team from October 2024. He is responsible for conducting / supporting HoldCo and Partner audits. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of post-qualification experience in the Financial Service Sector.

Prior to Gojo, he has worked with Yes Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Doha Bank conducting Risk based Internal Audit of various Units of the Bank.

Outside of work, he enjoys jogging and cycling. He is keenly interested in reading about different forms of investments.

Works in: India

Audit Manager

Deepak has joined the Gojo Group as an Audit Manager in the Internal Audit Team from October 2024. He is responsible for conducting / supporting HoldCo and Partner audits. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of post-qualification experience in the Financial Service Sector.

Prior to Gojo, he has worked with Yes Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Doha Bank conducting Risk based Internal Audit of various Units of the Bank.

Outside of work, he enjoys jogging and cycling. He is keenly interested in reading about different forms of investments.

Works in: India

IR Officer

Joining Gojo in September 2024, Nao is in charge of Investor Relations on the Finance team.

Prior to Gojo, Nao started her career as an investment professional at Mitsubishi Corporation, focusing on mining projects in Chile and Peru. Later, she joined the semi-governmental funds under the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism of Japan, encouraging Japanese companies to expand their business overseas.
She holds dual MBA degrees from Universidad de Chile and Tulane University.

Her enthusiasm to work for development comes from her experience attending a boarding high school in the US, United World College, where she spent two unforgettable years with students from more than 80 different countries. Her ambitions have grown stronger through different experiences such as volunteering in an orphanage house in Peru, organizing a young leaders program in Guatemala, and conducting independent research with an indigenous community in Costa Rica.
Outside of work, she is a mother of two kids who she loves to the moon and back, and she enjoys travel and eating.

Woks in: Japan

IR Officer

2024年９月より、五常のFinanceチームに参画。主にIRを担当。

経団連から奨学金をうけ、米国の全寮制高校（UWC）に留学、80ヵ国以上の国から集まる同級生と高校時代を過ごす。米国Macalester大学在学中はコスタリカの先住民族の村での研究活動、ペルーの児童養護施設で住み込みボランティア等を経験。

大学卒業後、三菱商事にて金属資源投資事業、官民ファンド（クールジャパン機構/海外交通・都市開発事業支援機構）にて日本企業の海外市場参入促進支援を目的とした投資事業に従事。また、夫のチリ駐在帯同中にUniversidad de Chile/Tulane Universityの共同MBAプログラム修了。

二児の母、家族・友人と過ごすこと、旅をすること、食べることが好き。

勤務地：日本

チーム・アシスタント

2024年8月にチームアシスタントとして五常に入社。
五常に入社する前は、エンターテインメント業界でデジタルマーケターとして1年間働いていた。

アメリカ出身で、中国に5年間住んでいたこともあり、多様な環境で育ってきた。五常では、誰もが働きやすいオフィス環境を作りたいと考えている。

趣味は海、散歩、家族や友人と過ごすこと。

勤務地：日本

Team Assistant

Shoko joined Gojo as a team assistant in August 2024.
Prior to joining Gojo, Shoko worked in the entertainment industry as a digital marketer for a year.

Originally from the United States and having lived in China for five years, she grew up in a diverse environment. In Gojo, she is determined to create a comfortable office environment for everyone.

Shoko loves to go to the beach/ocean, take walks through the city, and talk with her family and friends.

Works in: Japan

Financial Reporting / Accounting

Mariko, a Japanese Certified Public Accountant, joined Gojo & Company in September 2024 as a member of the finance team focusing on accounting and financial reporting.

She started her career at a Japanese electronic components manufacturer. She then joined a Japanese NPO project and worked in Timor-Leste as a project member. Realizing the importance of business, she began studying to become a certified public accountant. After passing the exam, she joined PwC Japan in 2015 and mainly engaged in auditing real estate funds and offshore funds under J-GAAP and IFRS.

Outside work, she enjoys cooking, especially have a big interest in Indian cuisine.

Works in: Japan

財務報告・会計

2024年9月よりファイナンスチームの一員として五常に入社し、主に会計と財務報告を担当している。

大学卒業後、大手電子部品メーカーに勤務。退職後にNPOのプロジェクトスタッフとして、東ティモール民主共和国でのプロジェクトに従事。その際にビジネスの重要性を痛感し、会計士資格を取得した。試験合格後、2015年よりPwC Japanにて、J-GAAP及びIFRSの不動産ファンド、外国籍ファンド等の監査に従事。

趣味は料理で、特にインド料理に強い関心を持っている。

勤務地：日本

FP&A Officer

Abbey works at Gojo for financial planning and analysis. He comes from an equity and credit analysis background. Before joining Gojo, he worked with Citi and Standard Chartered Bank, covering a range of companies across Asia. He earned his degree in Management Engineering from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines and completed his MBA at Hitotsubashi University in Japan. Abbey is also a CFA® Charterholder.

Abbey enjoys going to the cinema to catch the latest movies and playing video games.

FP&A Officer

Abbeyは五常でファイナンシャル・プランニングと分析に携わっている。株式とクレジット分析のバックグラウンドを持つ。五常に入社する前は、Citi と Standard Chartered Bankでアジア全域のさまざまな企業を担当。フィリピンのAteneo de Manila UniversityでManagement Engineeringの学位を取得し、日本の一橋大学でMBAを取得。また、CFA® Charterholder.

趣味は映画館で最新映画を観ることとビデオゲーム。

Outside Director

Milena has over 25 years of finance experience spanning across investment banking, wealth management, venture capital investing and startup advisory. She is a strong believer that directing capital for impact can be a powerful force for good without compromising financial returns.

Milena is Partner at Antares Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm taking a strategic approach to investing globally in breakthrough innovations that address sustainability challenges in Asia’s Growth Markets. She is co-chair of the Climate Solutions Committee at the Singapore Venture & Private Capital Association. She is also involved in several philanthropic initiatives and is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Clean Air Fund, a leading non-profit at the intersection of climate and health.

Prior to that she was Partner at Aera VC and focused on investing in transformative technologies to reverse climate change. In her earlier career as Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank in London, Milena advised leading financial institutions on mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs with over $10bn in deal value. In Singapore, she worked in UBS wealth management, advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals on asset allocation, wealth planning, and corporate structuring.

Milena holds a MSc Degree in International Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics.

IR & Fundraising / IPO Project Lead

Kana joined Gojo’s finance team in June 2023, where she is the IPO Project Lead and is involved in investor IR and debt/equity financing.

Prior to joining Gojo, she worked at the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) since 2015, where she was mainly in charge of structuring and managing loans for various overseas projects in which Japanese companies participate, including infrastructure projects in developing countries. She also gained experiences in developing ALM strategies based on profitability and market risk analysis for the bank at the Treasury Department. In 2022, she graduated from the University of Cambridge, UK, with a Master of Public Policy.

She enjoys cafe-hopping, cooking, travelling and hot springs. Mother of one child.

Location: Japan

IR & Fundraising / IPO Project Lead

2023年6月より五常のFinanceチームに参画し、IPOプロジェクトをリードする傍ら、IRとデット•エクイティ調達に携わる。

五常入社前は、2015年に国際協力銀行に入行後、途上国でのインフラ案件を含む、日本企業が参画する様々な海外プロジェクト向け融資の組成・管理を担当。また、財務部では採算分析及び市場リスク分析に基づくALM戦略策定に従事。2022年、英国ケンブリッジ大学にて公共政策学の修士号を取得。

好きなことは、カフェめぐり、料理、旅行、温泉。一児の母。

勤務地:東京

Head of Corporate Planning

Haruna is a professional with expertise in strategy, business development and incubation. She is the Head of Corporate Planning of Gojo, working on strategy development, post merger integration, corporate governance, social performance management, impact measurement, stakeholder impact management and any other projects that are needed to further enhance Gojo’s work.

Prior to Gojo, she worked for Rakuten, a Japanese internet services company for 10 years. As a member of the CEO’s office, she worked on special projects and other items on the CEO’s agenda, including acquisition of overseas companies, enrollment of Englishnization at Rakuten, strategy development of Rakuten Mobile and more. Amongst other things, she also led Rakuten’s ebook business as business manager in Japan and Taiwan, Asian business development, and innovation activities, including internal and external accelerator programs. Before Rakuten, she was a strategy consultant at Booz and Company. She graduated from Tokyo University majoring in Economics. She has lived 3 years in UK and a year in US in her childhood and is fluent in Japanese and English.

Outside of work, Haruna is a partner and board member of Social Venture Partners Tokyo, an NPO supporting seed stage social entrepreneurs to succeed. She is also a mother of 2 children, and enjoys reading and playing the flute.

Works in: Japan

Head of Corporate Planning

21年4月より五常に参画し、現在は経営企画部長。戦略策定、PMI、コーポレート・ガバナンス、ソーシャルパフォーマンス管理、インパクト測定、ステークホルダー・インパクトマネジメントなどを担当。前職の楽天株式会社では、主に社長室で全社戦略を担当する傍ら、テクノロジーを活用し社会起業家を支援する楽天ソーシャルアクセラレータを立ち上げ。

プライベートでは社会起業家を支援するSVP東京のパートナーであり二児の母。五常財団事務局として運営に携わっている。

SPM & Impact

A Master’s in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship graduate from the London School of Economics and a Chevening Scholar, Arya cares deeply about poverty alleviation, gender equality, education and youth development. At Gojo, Arya works on social performance management of Gojo’s partners and runs initiatives to measure the impact of Gojo’s partners’ products and services on clients’ lives.

Before Gojo, she worked for 5 years in strategy, business development, community building, program management and leadership in NGOs, social enterprises and for-profit enterprises. Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Women in Technology International in India, a 30 year old pioneer in empowering women in technology across the globe, where she built and led WITI’s India business. She has in the past built communities of 5000+ women in tech and conducted several online learning and mentorship programs.Arya is also a TEDx speaker and one of the 18 young women to receive the prestigious WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading non-fiction books, writing blogs on her website (aryamurali.com) and listening to countless hours of Indian music.

Works in: India

HR & Admin

Mehnaaz joined Gojo in March, 2023 as a Deputy Manager- HR & Admin. She has 7 years of experience in HR and has managed Recruitment, Employee Engagement along with managing end to end employee lifecycle. Prior to joining Gojo, Mehnaaz was associated with Universal Sompo general insurance company where she worked as a HRBP heading North region , taking care of various employee greviances , and conducting GPTW surveys . Apart from Universal Sompo, she has also worked with Maxbupa Health insurance company which has given her exposure across industries.

At Gojo, she works under Human Resource and manages end to end employee life cycle with Admin related activities.

Mehnaaz did her Masters in Business Administration from RIT, Roorkee and did her BCA from her hometown Roorkee.

Mehnaaz lives in Ghaziabad , Uttar Pradesh with her family. She has a keen interes in Decoring , Dancing and travelling . She also loves to socialize with all age group people to establish more powerful bonds.

Works In: India

Chief Financial Officer

Prior to joining Gojo, Kohei has served as Senior Vice President of Finance at SmartNews, Inc., a developer of a news discovery app. As its 7th employee and part of its management team, he led $80 million of equity financing and undertook a wide range of responsibilities including financial control, accounting, recruiting, people operations, legal, and investor relations.

As one of the founding members and as Chief Financial Officer at LIFENET INSURANCE COMPANY, a leading online life insurer in Japan, Kohei led it’s successful $100 million Initial Public Offering in 2012, and also setup a joint venture in Korea.

Kohei started his career at Morgan Stanley in its Investment Banking Division, where he was involved in multiple cross-border M&A transactions. In 2005, he moved to Hong Kong and joined Och-Ziff Capital Management, a global asset management company.

Kohei has a B.A. in Law from the University of Tokyo. While at school, he did an internship at a local NGO in Bangladesh where he was inspired by the power of microfinance that can unlock the potential of micro-entrepreneurs.

Kohei enjoys playing with his two boys over the weekends. He loves sports and has successfully finished the long-distance triathlon.

Works: Tokyo, Japan

マネージング・パートナー

世界有数の金融包摂グループ2社を設立、CEOとして率いた。

Jacques Attaliとムハマド・ユヌスの支援を受け、プラネットファイナンスを共同設立し、世界中でアドバイザリーサービスを提供。またアフリカ9カ国と中国でBaobab（旧MicroCred）を設立・CEOとして主導。退職前の2019年にBaobabは100万人の顧客に10億ドルを貸し出し、約2億ドルの総収益と4000万ドル以上の経常利益を創出。

世界経済フォーラムのヤング・グローバル・リーダーであり、the French China FoundationとShare Africaの共同設立者でもある。パリのEFREIでコンピュータサイエンスを、La Sorbonneで哲学を学んだ。フランス語、英語、スペイン語を流暢に話し、歴史と哲学を愛する。スキーとハイキングが好きな二児の父。

勤務地：フランス

Head of Internal Audit

2021年12月から内部監査責任者として五常に参加。五常グループの内部監査機能を担当し、各パートナー会社の内部監査機能と連携。Chartered Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, ISO9001:2015 Lead Auditorの資格を保有。銀行・金融業界で合計20年の経験を持ち、様々な銀行や金融機関に勤務。

Axis Bankでは、マネーロンダリング防止コンプライアンスを担当。また、Lulu Financial Groupのアブダビにあるグローバル本社では、チーフ内部監査役として勤務した。その他、ICICI Bank、PwC、YES Bank、HDFC Lifeでの勤務経験がある。

余暇にはマラソン、ハイキング、音楽鑑賞を楽しむ。

勤務地：インド

Impact Lead

五常グループの商品やサービスが顧客の生活に与える影響の測定に取り組んでいる。オックスフォード大学で歴史と英語の学士号、エディンバラ大学で翻訳学の修士号を取得。オックスフォード大学では、ホームレス支援活動を行い、社会正義のための全国的な学生主導チャリティ団体の設立に携わった。

卒業後は、社会的投資の金融仲介を行うSocial Financeに加わり、英国、カメルーン、ウェストバンクでインパクト・ボンドを設計し、国の保護を離れた若者の成果を追跡するためのアプリ作成を支援した。また、英国で難民女性をトレーニングし雇用する社会的企業、Proof Bakeryの創設者でもある。

余暇には、読書、おやつ、近所を探索することを好む。編み物や家庭料理も得意。

Researcher in Residence

Mercy works in Gojo’s Financial Diary (FD) projects as a Research analyst. She assisted in the data processing of baseline & endline surveys and the respondent diaries of Cambodia FD. She is currently involved in the analysis of the Sri Lanka FD project. She also supports the SPM team with the client survey analysis of the partner companies. She has a Masters in Computer Applications and Diploma in Materials Management with Information Science.

She started her career as a Lecturer in Computer Science and later joined the Indian Army as an Officer in the Army Ordnance Corps where she was involved in data analysis, process automation and system implementation of Oracle database system. She is an Oracle Certified Associate in Database Administration. She also has other work experiences in web designing, content management and migration.

Apart from work, she supports emotional and mental health groups and has been serving in the International Bible Study Fellowship since 2015. She likes to travel, cook and watch athletics.

Impact Lead

Cheriel works on initiatives to measure and learn from the impact of Gojo’s partners’ products and services on our clients’ lives. She has a BA (Hons.) in History and English from Exeter College, Oxford University, and an MSc. in Translation Studies from the University of Edinburgh. Cheriel got started in the world of social impact during her time in Oxford, where she ran a homeless outreach, and helped found what would become a national student-led charity for social justice.

After graduating, she joined Social Finance, a social investment financial intermediary, where she designed Impact Bonds in the UK, Cameroon and the West Bank, and helped create an app to track young people’s outcomes after leaving state care. She is a founding director of Proof Bakery, a social enterprise training and employing refugee women in the UK.

In her spare time, Cheriel enjoys reading, snacking, and exploring her neighbourhood. She is an accomplished knitter and an avid home cook.

Works in: Japan

SPM & Impact

A Master’s in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship graduate from the London School of Economics and a Chevening Scholar, Arya cares deeply about poverty alleviation, gender equality, education and youth development. At Gojo, Arya works on social performance management of Gojo’s partners and runs initiatives to measure impact of Gojo’s partners’ products and services on clients’ lives.

Prior to Gojo, she worked for 5 years in strategy, business development, community building, program management and leadership in NGOs, social enterprises and for-profit enterprises. Most recently, she served as the Vice President, India at Women in Technology International, a 30 year old pioneer in empowering women in technology across the globe, where she built and led WITI’s business for India. She has in the past built communities of 5000+ women in tech and conducted several online learning and mentorship programs.

Arya is also a TEDx speaker and one of the 18 young women to receive the prestigious WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship. In her spare time, she enjoys reading non-fiction books, writing blogs on her website (aryamurali.com) and listening to countless hours of Indian music.

Works in: India

Innovation Lead

米国のSarah Lawrence Collegeでリベラルアーツを学び、一度ミャンマーに帰国し、金融セクターで6年以上の経験を持つ。マイクロファイナンス機関であるProximity FinanceでMISを管理。その後、KBZ Bankでミャンマーの銀行セクターに参入し、Huaweiとのパートナーシップのもと、さまざまなステークホルダーと協力してKBZ Payを開発し、同銀行のアウトリーチを拡大させた。五常入社前は、Yoma Bankのデジタル部門に所属し、SMART Creditというデジタル融資商品を作成し立ち上げた。

時間のある時は新しいスキルの習得とともに、旅行や読書をするのを趣味とする。また、音楽フェスティバルに行くのが好きで、地域のさまざまなイベントに参加するため旅行することもある。

勤務地：ミャンマー

Legal & Compliane Officer

2023年10月より五常の法務及びコンプライアンスを担当。日本法の弁護士。

2009年に弁護士登録をした後、クリフォードチャンス外国法共同事務所のコーポレート部門において5年間勤務。その後上場直後の（株）リクルートに移籍し、多くの大型M&Aやベンチャー投資、株式報酬、役員関連契約、開示等の法務を担当。

プライベートでは2人の幼児の母。五常での仕事と育児を楽しく両立させたいと考えている。世界の絶景の写真集を見ながら、次の旅行先を考えるのが好き。

勤務地:東京

FP&A Officer

財務計画・分析を担当。JP Morgan の元金融アナリストとして、財務分析、予算編成、予測、差異分析などを専門としていた。以前は、DeloitteにTax seniorとして勤務し、Tax戦略等を担当したほか、恵まれない人々のコミュニティを向上させ、社会的、経済的、慈善的な意識を広めるための同社イニシアチブである「Impact Days」に積極的に参加していた。

Jai Hind Collegeで商学を学び、IBSでMBA（Management Finance）を取得。分散型金融とデジタル通貨プロトコルに情熱を注いでいる。

財務分析においてアジャイル手法を用いることに細心の注意を払い、専門家として高く評価されている。目標は金融に関わるリーダーシップポジションで成長すること。趣味はスポーツ観戦とコメディ。

勤務地：インド

財務報告・会計

五常では主に会計と財務報告を担当している。

大学2年次に公認会計士試験に合格し、EY新日本監査法人にて金商法・会社法監査及びIFRS導入アドバイザリーを経験後、デロイトトーマツファイナンシャルアドバイザリー合同会社にてクロスボーダーM&Aアドバイザリー、財務デューデリジェンス、カーブアウト支援等に従事。
五常外では、公認会計士・税理士の資格を活かし、スタートアップ企業に経営管理のアドバイザリーを行っている。また、五常財団事務局として運営に携わっている。

趣味はクラシック音楽鑑賞、ロードバイク、温泉めぐり。「環台（台湾をロードバイクで一周すること）」へのチャレンジを夢見ている。

勤務地：日本

Audit Manager

Sheetal joined Gojo in the Internal Audit Team as a consultant in Apr-23. In Apr-24, she joined Gojo as a full time member. At Gojo, she is responsible for conducting/supporting HoldCo and Partner audits. Also, she would assist in developing the Risk framework for Gojo and Partner companies.

She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 15 years experience in Process & Internal Audit, IFC (Internal Financial Controls), development of RCM (Risk Control Matrix), SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) & CSA (Control Self Assessment), SOX documentation. Prior to Gojo, she has worked at consulting firms,Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Trent, Axis Bank in full time/part time roles.

In her free time she likes to read, travel and write.

Works in India

Outside Director

Kshama has three decades of experience in Capital Markets, Risk Management and Structured Finance, with the last 15 years focussed on the financial inclusion space in India. Respected for her knowledge and commitment towards the cause of unleashing the power of finance for the greater good, Kshama has been a member of various High Powered Committees setup by the Government of India and has worked on consulting assignments for the World Bank, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and NSEIT. Through her innovative and pioneering work, she has been instrumental in creating and developing the market for debt for the underbanked in India. Kshama is recognised as a leading figure in the Indian financial markets, and in the world of impact investing. She is also the Vice Chairperson of the Northern Arc Group, a leading finance company in India that invests and connects underbanked institutions and businesses to capital markets investors.

She has a bachelors in Mathematics, a Masters in Management and a Ph.D. in Finance. An adventure sports enthusiast, Kshama is a trained mountaineer, sailor, sky diver and an ardent biker.

Outside Director

Almira has two decades of experience in risk and crisis strategy management, having worked as an advisor, board member and management, as well as having extensive Investment Committee experience. Most recently she was a senior executive in a global, fast-growing Web 3 financial services business and previously a Partner at FTI Consulting where she spent a decade and helped build and ran Global Risk and Investigation Practic in Europe, Central Asia and Africa.

During her formative years, as a Bosnian refugee, Almira experienced challenges relating to remittances and access to finance, which later shaped her keen interest in finacial inclusion and digital finance as well as broader issues of social justice.

Almira is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She speaks English, Serbo-Croatian and Russian (as well as some basic Tajik). She enjoys reading and cooking with her family.

Regional Finance

Abhishek has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and have over 6 years of experience across banking and financial sector & has worked across housing finance, NBFC, Micro Finance and fintech. He is originally from Mumbai (India) & currently living in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka in India.

Prior to joining Gojo, he worked at Rupeek Fintech which is asset backed gold lending co. At Rupeek he was responsible for managing the financial reporting & audits of Rupeek Fintech & its subsidiary Rupeek Capital.

Outside of work, he enjoys playing cricket, badminton & loves cooking.

Works In: India

Junior Internal Auditor

Dedicated to analyzing, assessing, and mitigating risks, Pooja is a part of the Internal Audit team at Gojo. She earned her master’s degree in Post Graduate Diploma in Management with her major in Finance from Management Development Institute Murshidabad in April 2023. Certified as an ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management Specialist, Pooja started her journey with Gojo in June 2022 as an intern, working closely with the IA team, taking care of the data room, managing communication with the partner companies and building reports to be submitted to the Audit committee. Post completing her studies, she successfully transitioned her internship into full-time work at Gojo in July 2023 and is currently supporting the team with Audit functions and developing various policies such as the Internal Credit Risk Policy. Pooja had previously worked as an intern in a CA firm in India, where she drafted financial statements and was a business analyst for Purv Technologies, among other organisations

Outside of work, she enjoys taking part in case study competitions primarily in finance and marketing. She is a sports enthusiast and loves travelling.

Grateful for the opportunities that have shaped her career so far, she is motivated to explore the world of finance!

Works in: India

Board Member

Ignacio is a non-executive director at Gojo & Company, Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School’s Council on Emerging Market Enterprises at Tufts University, and an independent consultant.

During 2015-2020, Ignacio was co-founder and executive director at the Digital Frontiers Institute, a not-for-profit that develops professional development training courses around digital money and payments. Previously, he was Deputy Director in the Financial Services for the Poor program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Senior Advisor at the Technology Program at CGAP. I have been Director of Global Business Strategy at Vodafone Group, Executive VP of Marketing and Account Management at DoCoMo interTouch, and Senior Manager responsible for telecoms investments in Europe for Intel Capital.

Ignacio has undergraduate degrees in maths and economics from MIT and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. He has been Adjunct Professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Debt Fundraising & Treasury Manager

Vidary joined Gojo in September 2022, working part of her time in the finance team. She has over 10 years of experience in microfinance – in the investment department at the holding company Advans International, and in the operations department whilst working for a Mexican MFI at the beginning of her career.

The other part of her time as an independent consultant is still dedicated to the microfinance industry, working mostly on ESG related matters.

Vidary graduated from EM Lyon, Master of Science in Management, specialized in Finance & International business.

She speaks French, English, Spanish fluently and can be conversational in Slovak and Laotian.

Vidary loves soul music, cooking, travelling, mountain climbing and surfing. She’s the mother of 2 young boys.

Works in: Slovakia and France

Researcher in Residence

五常のデータ分析プロジェクトをリードしている。東京大学を卒業後、第一生命保険相互会社に2年間勤務、ゴールドマン・サックス・アセット・マネジメントでは、計量モデルを用いた旗艦ヘッジファンド、グローバルアルファを運用するグループで活躍。他にグローバル・タクティカル・アセット・アロケーション運用、様々な定量分析ツールの開発に従事。

退社後は独立、金融機関のコンサルティングを含む複数事業を営む。

金融論、音楽、スキーが好き。

勤務地：日本

CEO, Maxima

2018年に五常のカンボジア・カントリーレップとして入社し、2022年からはグループ会社のMaximaのCEOに就任。CEOとして戦略策定、支店オペレーション、人事、与信管理、デジタルプロジェクト、資金調達、経営企画、ソーシャルパフォーマンス向上、マーケティング等を経営・管轄している。

五常以前には、ヘルスバンク社（シンガポール・マレーシア・ベトナム）、マッキンゼー東京オフィス、三井物産食料本部・戦略企画室で戦略、ターンアラウンド、オペレーション改善、組織改革、新規事業立ち上げ、投資DD等、幅広い業界・機能・地域のプロジェクトに従事。

英語・日本語に流暢で、クメール語を学習中。モットーは、「強く、賢く、優しく、楽しく」。日々の仕事を通じて、自由で平等な社会を目指す。

勤務地：カンボジア

Data Analytics

英国ロンドン大学クイーン・メアリー校を卒業、数学の理学修士号を取得。

五常入社前は、イギリスのオックスフォードを拠点にデータサイエンティストとして活動。新興企業や中小企業向けに、データ分析やデータ管理の分野でサービスを提供していた。また、定量的手法を用いたアカデミックリサーチコンサルタントも務めていた。

2019年、世界の所得格差と戦うために五常に入社。中でも、五常のデータ分析、データプロジェクトを担当するとともに、その知識と経験でパートナー会社をサポートしている。

趣味はハイキングと水墨画。インスピレーションが湧いたら、俳句を作る。

Chief People & Inclusion Officer

世界銀行グループIFC（国際金融公社）のワシントンDC本社とジャカルタ事務所でインベストメント・オフィサーとして7年間、マイクロファイナンス・フィンテック向けの投資・融資を担当。IFCの前はブータンで１年間ブータン首相フェローとして金融包摂を通じたGNH（国民総幸福）の向上に従事。 最初のキャリアはマッキンゼーの経営コンサルタントとしてで東京とフランクフルトで計４年を過ごした。

京都大学法学部卒業。ジョージタウン大学外交政策大学院で開発学修士を取得。

趣味は歌（オペラ、カラオケ）、テニス。

著書：ブータンで本当の幸せについて考えてみました。 -「足るを知る」と経済成長は両立するのだろうか？

勤務地：東京

創業者・代表執行役

1981年東京都生まれ。モルガン・スタンレー・キャピタル、ユニゾン・キャピタルで8年間にわたりプライベート・エクイティ投資実務に携わった後、2014年に五常・アンド・カンパニーを共同創業。グループ経営、資金調達、投資など全般に従事している。

金融機関で働くかたわら、2007年にLiving in Peaceを設立し(2017年に理事長退任)、日本初のマイクロファイナンス投資ファンドを企画した。過去15年以上にわたり社会的養育を受ける子どもの支援に携わっており、2021年に日本児童相談業務評価機関を共同設立した。

単著は9冊。日本縦断1648kmウルトラマラソン完走。空手黒帯、ブラジリアン柔術青帯(2022年時点)。世界経済フォーラムのYoung Global Leader 2018選出。一般財団法人五常代表理事。朝鮮大学校法律学科、早稲田大学大学院ファイナンス研究科卒。趣味はストリート写真を撮ること。時々バンドでドラムを叩く。

取締役会議長、監査委員会及び指名委員会の委員を務める。

勤務地：日本

Principal/Head of VC

ムンバイ大学で電子工学の学士号を、ミシガン大学でファイナンスの修士号を取得。五常入社以前は、Aavishkaar-Intellecapグループに所属し、ソーシャルインパクト・スタートアップへの投資に焦点を当てたエンジェル投資ネットワークであるIntellecap Impact Investment Networkを率いた。5年間の在籍中、インドと東アフリカで約35件の投資を主導した。

投資銀行業務の専門家。以前はBank of Americaにシニアアナリストとして勤務していた。グローバル投資銀行チームに所属し、ヘルスケア分野に重点を置き、数十億ドル規模のM&A取引に関与。それ以前は、インドのFortune Financial Services LtdとNYのCrucible Capital Groupの投資銀行チームに所属していた。

ビール好きであるほか、個人的にエンジェル投資家としても活動。家族と一緒にプネに住んでいる。

勤務地：インド

Investment

ミャンマーのMicrofinance Delta International (MIFIDA)社の副社長と、五常のパートナー会社のための資金調達・事業開発を兼務。

2018年に五常のミャンマー・カントリーレップとして入社し、MIFIDAにて、戦略策定、資金調達・財務、オペレーションのデジタル化、新規事業開発、ソーシャルパフォーマンス向上に従事。

五常以前には、ローランド・ベルガー東京/シンガポールオフィスで勤務。ミャンマーや東南アジアのクライアント向けの戦略、ターンアラウンド、オペレーション改善、組織改革、新規事業立ち上げ、投資DD等、幅広い業界・機能・地域のプロジェクトに従事。個人事業として秋田県の地域に根差す小売事業の全社・事業コンサルティングも実施。幼少期はイギリスやブラジルで過ごす。ミャンマーで出家をし、座禅を組んだ経験も有り。

英語、日本語。ビルマ語はベーシックな読み書きレベル

勤務地：ミャンマー

HR Assistant Director

2022年8月、人事部のアシスタント・ディレクターとして五常に入社。12年の人事経験を持ち、採用、従業員エンゲージメント、業績評価、従業員のライフサイクル管理などを行ってきた。五常入社前は、EYで職場におけるウェルビーイングを推進するプロジェクトを担当し、調査、従業員の考え方の理解、ウェルビーイングプログラムのカスタマイズなどの仕事を経験した。また、Genpact、HCL、Max Bupa Health Insurance、Pearl Academyなど様々な企業で働き、業界を超えた経験を積んできた。

コルカタのIBSで経営学修士を、故郷のジャイプールで心理学修士を取得。

家族とジャイプールに住んでいる。旅行が好きで、トレッキングを楽しみ、愛犬家でもある。また、新しい人と出会い豊かな関係を気づくことを楽しんでいる。

勤務地：インド

Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer

2014年に最高投資責任者として五常を共同創業し、以来、投資部門を率いている。投資先開拓のほか、パートナー企業の取締役会や委員会に参加し、グループ会社におけるガバナンス強化に積極的に貢献している。

Delhi University卒業前に公認会計士(CPA)の資格を取得。1990年代前半にインドで監査マネージャーとして勤務した後、金融会社でコーポレートバンキング（北インド）チームを率いる。

2003年にマイクロファイナンス業界に入り、以来、29カ国で約125のMFI格付けと評価を実施し、400以上のMFI格付けレポートを承認した。世界銀行、ADB、UNDP、Cordaid、Mercy Corpsなどの案件を担当。2013年にカンボジアのMFIでCEOを務めた後、慎と共に五常を設立し、マイクロファイナンス分野における豊富な経験を活かしている。

妻と2人の娘とインドで暮らす。 英語、ヒンディー語、パンジャブ語を話し、読書、映画、音楽をこよなく愛する。長年The Beatlesを愛している。

勤務地：インド

PMO Pasio Youth Banking App

Androidアプリケーション開発で7年以上の経験を持つ。テクノロジーチームのソフトウェアエンジニアとして五常に入社。 Nagarjuna college of Engineering and Technology を卒業し、工学学士号を取得。

五常に入社する前はSeqatoのリード エンジニアとして、モバイル チームの指揮とモバイル アプリケーションの開発を担当。また、Rainconcert Technologies、Codeleven Technologies、Businocrats に勤務していた。さまざまなカテゴリのAndroidアプリケーションを開発。

自由な時間を家族や友人と過ごすことを愛する。クリケット、チェス、キャロム盤をプレイするのが好きで、いろいろな曲を聴くことも好き。

勤務地：日本

Head of Accounting and FP&A

2020年8月より五常・アンド・カンパニーに所属。同社でHead of Accounting and FP&Aを担当している。

大学2年次に公認会計士試験に合格し、非常勤としてEY新日本監査法人に入社。大学在学中に、語学留学、EYフィリピンで金融アドバイザリー、国内会計事務所で経営アドバイザリーを経験。EY新日本で3年間勤務後、EYロサンゼルス事務所で2年間駐在。IFRS、US-GAAP、J-GAAPでの監査をそれぞれ経験。

マイクロファイナンスとの出会いは、学生時代、フィリピンでのインターン。

社外取締役

以前の経歴は米国プルデンシャル・ファイナンシャル Chief Compliance Officer及びChief Ethics Officer、ヤマハ株式会社 Global Legal, Ethics & Compliance Advisor。

ヤマハ株式会社入社前には、プルデンシャル・ファイナンシャル、ステート・ストリート信託銀行、シグナ・コーポレーション、エース・リミテッドなどのグローバル大手金融機関各社でシニア法務担当者を歴任。北米、南米、アジア、欧州で200名以上の従業員を管理した経験も有する。また、Global Ethics Officerとして携わったプルデンシャル・ファイナンシャルは、2015年に初めて「世界で最も倫理的な企業」の1つに認定され、その後複数回にわたり認定を受ける。Doi氏はセントルイスのワシントン大学で哲学の学士号を(最も優秀な学生に贈られるMagna Cum Laude、Phi Beta Kappaを取得)、カリフォルニア大学ロサンゼルス校ロースクールにて法務博士号を取得。1994年より日本に在住し、日本を中心にアジアにおける女性のエンパワーメント、神経科学、行動倫理に取り組む。

指名委員会の議長を務めるとともに、監査委員会及び報酬委員会の委員を務めている。

Senior Data Engineer

インド工科大学でコンピュータサイエンスとエンジニアリングの修士号を取得。

卒業後、Quikr India Pvt. Ltd.に入社し、さまざまな社内システムの実装を主導。五常入社前は、Shaadi.comのデータエンジニアリングチームで、クラウドベースのデータレイクとデータウェアハウジングシステムの実装・強化を担当。

五常ではデータ管理プラットフォームの構築に取り組んでいる。

写真と料理が好き。生命の存在と進化に強い関心を持ち、最近では現代の技術進歩に対する宗教や神話の持つ影響について学んでいる。

動物を愛し、家族、友人、そして愛犬Eathenと過ごす時間を大切にしている。

勤務地：インド

社外取締役

投資銀行、ウェルスマネジメント、ベンチャーキャピタル、インパクト投資において20年以上の経験を有する金融セクターの専門家。幅広い経験を通じて、インパクトのために資金を投じることは、利益を損なうことなく、世の中のために強力な力となり得るという信念をもつ。

ミレーナは、スタートアップ向けアドバイザーのTherion Advisersの共同創業者兼Managing Partner、気候変動の課題解決に取り組む革新的なソリューションに投資するグローバル・ベンチャーキャピタルであるAera VCのVenture Partner、ベンチャーキャピタルAntlerのVenture Partnerを務めています。以前はロンドンでUBSグループ投資銀行部門のExecutive Director、シンガポールのウェルスマネジメントのコンサルタントを歴任。慈善活動にも力を注いでおり、複数のNGOの創設者やパートナー。米国証券アナリスト。London School of EconomicsでInternational Accounting and Financeの修士号を取得。

監査委員会及びインパクト委員会の委員を務める。

Innovation Product Director

2022年9月にイノベーション・プロダクト・ディレクターとして五常に入社。テクノロジー分野のベンチャーキャピタルの専門家で、大手ベンチャーキャピタルファンドにおけるアジア全域での経験と、eコマースマーケティング、ベンチャー構築、ファイナンスにまたがる多様な見識を備えている。

五常入社以前は、Launcho VenturesでSEAと米国市場を中心とした消費者ブランドの拡大に取り組んだ。また、Vertex Venture Holdingsに在籍し、中東地域と台湾への投資を行なった。Vertex以前は、Reebonz Taiwanで、高級電子商取引プラットフォームを拡張し、デジタルビジネスをゼロから立ち上げた。また、大手食料品スタートアップのHonestbeeでは、C-suite Managerとして勤務。

自由な時間には、ヨガや読書、音楽鑑賞を楽しんでいる。

勤務地：シンガポール

社外取締役

慶應義塾大学総合政策学部准教授。2017年3月に社外取締役として五常に参画。監査委員会議長、指名委員会、報酬委員会、インパクト委員会の委員。

数社の起業を経験の後、マッキンゼー・アンド・カンパニーの日本およびドイツを拠点に主に海外企業の経営支援に従事。その後、オックスフォード大学に移籍し、経営学の優等修士号と博士号を取得。立命館大学経営学部を経て、2016年より現職。専門は、経営戦略、国際経営、および、制度と組織の関係。慶應義塾大学政策・メディア研究科委員、上場企業を含む複数のスタートアップの社外役員を兼務。著書に『STARTUP優れた経営者は何を考え、どう行動したか』、『経営戦略原論』、『領域を超える経営学』、分担著に『Japanese Management in Evolution』などがある。

勤務地：日本

Chief Financial Officer

大学在学中にバングラデシュのNGOにおけるリサーチ・インターンを通じて、マイクロファイナンスの可能性と課題を認識。大学卒業後、インドの英文校正スタートアップの立ち上げに関与したのち、モルガン・スタンレー証券 投資銀行本部においてM&Aアドバイザリー業務に従事。Och-Ziff Capital Management(Hong Kong)を経て、2008年にライフネット生命保険に入社し、経営管理、事業開発、組織開発、韓国におけるJV設立などを担当。IPO準備の責任者として同社を東証マザーズ上場に導き、執行役員CFOに就任。

2014年に7番目の社員としてスマートニュースに入社。コーポレート部門の立ち上げ、累計85億円強の資本調達、米国子会社の設立、採用・人事・組織開発等を担当したのち執行役員 財務担当に就任。

スポーツと軽井沢とカレーをこよなく愛する二児の父。

日本証券アナリスト協会認定アナリスト(CMA)

勤務地: 東京

IR Manager

2020年4月より五常の財務チームに参画し、Investors Relations、エクイティ・デット調達、IPOプロジェクト、PRに従事。 前職の三菱UFJモルガンスタンレー証券では、国内外のM&A、エクイティ・オファリング、不動産セクターのアドバイザリーサービスに関与。 学生時代、タンザニアにて女性と子どものエンパワメントに関するインターンに従事。五常財団事務局メンバー。

勤務地: 日本

Regional Finance Manager

五常のファイナンスチームに参加。Chartered Accountant with Institute of Chartered Accountants of Indiaの資格を持ち、財務領域の複数の分野で8年以上の経験を持つ。インドのカルナータカ州にあるベンガルールを拠点に活動。

五常入社以前は、フィンテックスタートアップのAvanti Financeに勤務。Avantiでは財務部門全体を担当し、最初のエクイティ資金調達である 2600 万米ドルの調達を成功させたチームの一員でもあった。また、CapitaLandでは、インド事業の財務報告を担当し、インド事業の財務機能の立ち上げを主導した経験もある。

仕事以外では料理が好きで、サイクリングやランニングをし健康維持に努めている。インド国内を広く旅する熱心なトラベラー。

勤務地：インド

財務報告・会計

ファイナンスチームの一員として五常に入社し、主に会計と財務報告を担当している。

慶應義塾大学在学中に公認会計士試験に合格し、PwCあらた有限責任監査法人に入社。資産運用業界の監査、内部統制検証業務、金融規制アドバイザリー業務に従事し、IFRS、J-GAAPでの監査をそれぞれ経験。

趣味はクラリネットを吹くこと、野球観戦。

勤務地：日本

Chief Operating Officer

2020年6月にCOOとして入社し、パートナー会社の運営を監督。リテールバンキング、SMEファイナンス、マイクロファイナンス、デジタルファイナンスの分野で豊富なリーダーシップ経験を持ち、また、複数の金融機関のターンアラウンドも経験。複数の国で30年以上銀行部門に携わってきた。

キャリアをスタートさせた当初から、イノベーションとインパクトに関心があり、現在ドイツ1位にランクインする初の完全自動化オンラインクレジットソリューション、easyCreditを開発。五常入社以前は、Vision Fund MyanmarのCOOとして、完全デジタル化されたマイクロファイナンスシステムを開発・導入し、貧困顧客30万人以上にローン、預金、教育へのアクセスを提供。現在は、デジタル化と変革のプロセスについて、いくつかの銀行にアドバイスをしている。

クリエイティブな精神を持ち、常にアクティブに活動。建築、ガーデニング、ハンドクラフト（特に家の改造）に熱中し、自転車とテニスをこよなく愛している。2人の子供が独立したら、妻と一緒にヨットに乗るのが夢。

勤務地：ドイツ

財務報告・会計

ファイナンスチームの一員として五常に入社し、主に会計と財務報告を担当している。香港中文大学にて会計学の学士号を取得。

PwC香港事務所でキャリアをスタートし、2012年にPwC Japanに移籍。PwCでは、法定監査、財務報告アドバイザリープロジェクト等に従事。また、2014年から2016年までIFRS財団アジア・オセアニア事務所に出向し、国・地域ごとの税務開示やIFRS報告に関する調査を行っていた。Gojoに入社する直前には、ITベンチャー企業のJapan Computer Vision Corp.で2年間、経理・財務企画・分析チームのリーダーを担当。

仕事以外の時間は家族とアウトドアで過ごし、サッカー観戦を楽しむ。

勤務地：日本

Researcher in Residence

Yoshi joined Gojo and currently is leading the company’s analytics projects. Having graduated from Tokyo University and worked for Dai-ichi Life Insurance for 2 years, he spent 10 years as a quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs Asset Management where he used to work for Global Alpha, a hedge fund of the investment bank.

At Goldman Sachs, Yoshi managed quantitative global tactical asset allocation of the fund and developed various quantitative investment management products and tools. After leaving Goldman Sachs, he founded his own company and used to run a music studio business while providing consulting services for financial institutions. He loves finance theory, music, and skiing.

Works in: Japan

Chief People & Inclusive Officer

At Gojo, Takao leads corporate planning and HR. Before joining Gojo, Takao was an Investment Officer at International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, based in both Washington DC and Jakarta. In his 7 years with IFC, he led investments in microfinance institutions, banks and fintech startups in emerging markets. Before IFC, Takao worked as the Bhutan Prime Minister’s Fellow, developing microfinance regulations and financial inclusion policy to contribute to Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH). He also worked for 4 years as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company based in Frankfurt and Tokyo.

Takao graduated from Georgetown University, USA, with a Master of Science in Foreign Service and completed his Bachelor of Laws from Kyoto University, Japan.

Takao loves singing, both opera and karaoke. Tennis is his favorite sport. He has authored a book in Japanese, the English translation of the title being; ‘What is true happiness? Thoughts from Bhutan’

Works: Japan

Principal/Head of VC

Sohil graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a Masters in Finance and completed his under graduation in Electronics Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Before joining Gojo, Sohil was a part of the Aavishkaar-Intellecap Group where he led Intellecap Impact Investment Network, an early-stage angel network focused on making investments in social impact start-ups. In his five years with the group, he led around 35 investments in India and East Africa of which they exited from 6 companies and another 15 companies raised follow-on round of investment.

An Investment Banking professional with over six years of experience in India and US, Sohil previously worked as a Senior Analyst at Bank of America. He was part of the Global Investment Banking team, with a key focus on the healthcare sector, where he was a part of a few billion-dollar M&A transactions. Prior to that, he worked with the investment banking teams at Fortune Financial Services (India) Ltd and Crucible Capital Group in New York.

Apart from being an avid brewer, Sohil is an angel investor in his personal capacity as well. He lives in Pune with his family.

Works in: India

Investment

Based in Myanmar, Shun is the Deputy CEO at Microfinance Delta, and also takes on a role in fundraising and business development activities for all Gojo’s partner companies.

After studying at Keio University, Faculty of Economics, and graduating from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Shun joined Roland Berger and worked in the Japan and Singapore Offices. As a management consultant, he was involved in multiple projects across Southeast Asia.

As a freelance consultant, Shun worked in rural Japan in Akita for a local supermarket chain. His early childhood was spent in the UK and Brazil. Proficient in English and Japanese, he also has basic Burmese skills. Tennis is his favourite sport. During an earlier stint in Myanmar, Shun ordained at a Buddhist monastery and practiced meditation.

Works in: Myanmar

Audit Manager

Sheetal joined Gojo in the Internal Audit Team as a consultant in Apr-23. In Apr-24, she joined Gojo as a full time member. At Gojo, she is responsible for conducting/supporting HoldCo and Partner audits. Also, she would assist in developing the Risk framework for Gojo and Partner companies.

She is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 15 years experience in Process & Internal Audit, IFC (Internal Financial Controls), development of RCM (Risk Control Matrix), SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) & CSA (Control Self Assessment), SOX documentation. Prior to Gojo, she has worked at consulting firms,Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Trent, Axis Bank in full time/part time roles.

In her free time she likes to read, travel and write.

Works in India

Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer

Sanjay co-founded Gojo in 2014 as Gojo’s Chief investment Officer and has led the Investment Division since then. Apart from recommending the investments to be made by Gojo, he also represents Gojo on the Board and Committees of the partner entities and contributes actively towards strengthening the governance at the partner level.

Sanjay qualified as a Chartered Accountant (CPA) before graduating from Delhi University. After his first job as an Audit Manager in India in early 1990s, he led the Corporate Banking (North India) team for a Finance company.

Sanjay joined the microfinance industry in 2003 and has been part of it ever since: conducted about 125 MFI ratings & assessments in 29 countries; approved more than 400 MFI Rating reports. Some of the assignments were for the World Bank, ADB, UNDP, Cordaid and Mercy Corps. After his CEO assignment at a Cambodian MFI in 2013, Sanjay and Taejun got together to set up Gojo, where Sanjay’s extensive experience in the microfinance sector has been invaluable.

Sanjay operates from India, where he stays with his wife and two daughters. He speaks English, Hindi, and Punjabi. Loves reading; movies; and music. “The Beatles” is his all-time favourite music band.

Senior Data Engineer

Rahul holds a masters degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay, India.

After graduating, he joined Quikr India Pvt. Ltd. and led implementation of various in-house systems there. Prior to joining Gojo, Rahul worked for leading Indian matchmaking platform Shaadi.com in their Data Engineering team, and was responsible for implementing and enhancing cloud-based data lake and data warehousing systems.

At Gojo, Rahul is working as a part of the Technology/Data team on building a data management platform to support the company’s data strategy.

Rahul likes photography and cooking. He has a keen interest in topics related to the existence and evolution of life, and has recently developed an interest in learning about the influence of religion and mythology on modern technological advancements.

Rahul is an animal lover. He loves to spend his free time with family, friends and his dog Eathen.

Works in: India

Junior Internal Auditor

Dedicated to analyzing, assessing, and mitigating risks, Pooja is a part of the Internal Audit team at Gojo. She earned her master’s degree in Post Graduate Diploma in Management with her major in Finance from Management Development Institute Murshidabad in April 2023. Certified as an ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management Specialist, Pooja started her journey with Gojo in June 2022 as an intern, working closely with the IA team, taking care of the data room, managing communication with the partner companies and building reports to be submitted to the Audit committee. Post completing her studies, she successfully transitioned her internship into full-time work at Gojo in July 2023 and is currently supporting the team with Audit functions and developing various policies such as the Internal Credit Risk Policy. Pooja had previously worked as an intern in a CA firm in India, where she drafted financial statements and was a business analyst for Purv Technologies, among other organisations.

Outside of work, she enjoys taking part in case study competitions primarily in finance and marketing. She is a sports enthusiast and loves travelling.

Grateful for the opportunities that have shaped her career so far, she is motivated to explore the world of finance!

Works in: India

Researcher in Residence

Mercy works in Gojo’s Financial Diary (FD) projects as a Research analyst. She assisted in the data processing of baseline & endline surveys and the respondent diaries of Cambodia FD. She is currently involved in the analysis of the Sri Lanka FD project. She also supports the SPM team with the client survey analysis of the partner companies. She has a Masters in Computer Applications and Diploma in Materials Management with Information Science.

She started her career as a Lecturer in Computer Science and later joined the Indian Army as an Officer in the Army Ordnance Corps where she was involved in data analysis, process automation and system implementation of Oracle database system. She is an Oracle Certified Associate in Database Administration. She also has other work experiences in web designing, content management and migration.

Apart from work, she supports emotional and mental health groups and has been serving in the International Bible Study Fellowship since 2015. She likes to travel, cook and watch athletics.

HR & Admin

Mehnaaz joined Gojo in March, 2023 as a Deputy Manager- HR & Admin. She has 7 years of experience in HR and has managed Recruitment, Employee Engagement along with managing end to end employee lifecycle. Prior to joining Gojo, Mehnaaz was associated with Universal Sompo general insurance company where she worked as a HRBP heading North region , taking care of various employee greviances , and conducting GPTW surveys . Apart from Universal Sompo, she has also worked with Maxbupa Health insurance company which has given her exposure across industries.

At Gojo, she works under Human Resource and manages end to end employee life cycle with Admin related activities.

Mehnaaz did her Masters in Business Administration from RIT, Roorkee and did her BCA from her hometown Roorkee.

Mehnaaz lives in Ghaziabad , Uttar Pradesh with her family. She has a keen interes in Decoring , Dancing and travelling . She also loves to socialize with all age group people to establish more powerful bonds.

Works In: India

Outside Director

Masahiro Kotosaka is an Associate Professor at Keio University and a non-executive director of Gojo & Company since March 2017. He is an expert in Internationalization strategy and early stage business development, and advisor/non-executive director of several start-up/multinational companies.

Before moving to Keio, he was an associate professor of multinational management at Ritsumeikan University, a teaching & research associate at the University of Oxford, and a consultant at McKinsey & Company based in Frankfurt and Tokyo. As a practitioner, he worked for strategy/marketing projects with sixteen client organizations across nine industries and nine countries and spent four years running three profitable IT/Retail businesses before joining McKinsey.

He graduated from the University of Oxford with D.Phil. (Ph.D) in Management Studies and MSc in Management Research with Distinction. His recent publication includes STARTUP (Co-authored, NewsPicks Publishing, 2020), The Element of Strategic Management (Toyo Keizai, 2018), and The Japanese Business in Evolution (Co-authored, Routledge, 2017).

Works in: Japan

Innovation Lead

Kaung Set Lin studied Liberal Arts at Sarah Lawrence College in the United States and returned to Myanmar at the end of 2012. He has over 6 years of experience in the financial sector in Myanmar. He started out his career in microfinance managing the MIS while exploring digital products and partnerships at one of Myanmar’s leading MFIs, Proximity Finance. After this, he entered Myanmar’s banking sector with KBZ Bank, where he worked with different stakeholders in partnership with Huawei to develop KBZ Pay to expand the outreach of the bank. Before joining Gojo & Co in late 2019, he worked for Yoma Bank’s Digital Division, where he created and launched a digital lending product called SMART Credit.

When he is not busy working, Kaung Set likes to travel and read along with learning new skills. He also likes going to music festivals and would travel to go to different events around the region.

Works in: Myanmar

Regional Finance Manager

Karthik has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and have over 8 years of experience across multiple areas of the finance function. He is based out of the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka in India.

Prior to joining Gojo, he worked at Avanti Finance, a fintech startup. At Avanti he was responsible for the entire finance function and was part of the team that successfully closed Avanti’s first equity fund raise of USD 26 Million. He has also worked at CapitaLand where he was responsible for financial reporting for India business and led the setup of the treasury function for their India business.

Outside of work he enjoys cooking and also tries to keep fit by cycling and running. He is an avid traveller and has travelled extensively across India.

Works In: India

Outside Director

Ignacio is a non-executive director at Gojo & Company, Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School’s Council on Emerging Market Enterprises at Tufts University, and an independent consultant.

During 2015-2020, Ignacio was co-founder and executive director at the Digital Frontiers Institute, a not-for-profit that develops professional development training courses around digital money and payments. Previously, he was Deputy Director in the Financial Services for the Poor program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Senior Advisor at the Technology Program at CGAP. I have been Director of Global Business Strategy at Vodafone Group, Executive VP of Marketing and Account Management at DoCoMo interTouch, and Senior Manager responsible for telecoms investments in Europe for Intel Capital.

Ignacio has undergraduate degrees in maths and economics from MIT and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. He has been Adjunct Professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.

IR Manager

Arisa works on investor relations and funtraising with the team.

After graduating from Keio University, Department of Political Science, and studying abroad at the University of Manchester as an exchange student, Arisa joined the Investment Banking Division of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley. She was involved in cross-border and domestic M&As, equity offerings and financial advisories, primarily for the real estate industry.

Building on her long-standing interest in global inequality and her experience interning at a local NGO in Tanzania providing empowerment programs for women and children, she aims to dedicate herself to solving injustice in the world.

She loves yoga, traveling, and reading books to find beauty and peace inside and outside.

Works in: Japan

Debt Fundraising & Treasury Manager

Vidary joined Gojo in September 2022, working part of her time in the finance team. She has over 10 years of experience in microfinance – in the investment department at the holding company Advans International, and in the operations department whilst working for a Mexican MFI at the beginning of her career.

The other part of her time as an independent consultant is still dedicated to the microfinance industry, working mostly on ESG related matters.

Vidary graduated from EM Lyon, Master of Science in Management, specialized in Finance & International business.

She speaks French, English, Spanish fluently and can be conversational in Slovak and Laotian.

Vidary loves soul music, cooking, travelling, mountain climbing and surfing. She’s the mother of 2 young boys.

Works in: Slovakia and France

CEO, Maxima

Tomo joined Gojo in 2018 as a Country representative of Cambodia and became the CEO of Maxima Microfinance Plc. in 2022. He oversees the strategic and operational development of Cambodian business. He leads the MFI by managing strategy, corporate planning, operation, credit, HR, digital initiative, marketing, fundraising, and social performance management.

Prior to Gojo, he worked for Healthbank Pte.Ltd. as a Business Development Associate, working in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. Next, he joined McKinsey (Tokyo office) and was involved in multiple projects. Later, as a member of the strategic planning division of the Food Business Unit of Mitsui &Co.,Ltd. Tomo was engaged in projects of strategy, investment, research, and group company management.

Tomo is proficient in English and Japanese and is also learning Khmer. His motto is “Be tough, wise and tolerant, enjoying your own life.” Throughout the business activity, he tries to establish a fair and free society based on trustworthy relationships.

Works in: Cambodia

Data Analytics

Tomasz graduated from Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom, with a Master of Science in Mathematics.

Before joining Gojo, Tomasz was an independent data scientist based in Oxford, United Kingdom. He was providing services in the area of data analysis and data management for startups and SMEs. He was also a consultant for academic research using advanced quantitative methods.

In 2019 he joined Gojo to fight income inequalities in the world. Among others, he is responsible for data analysis and data projects in Gojo as well as support partner companies with his knowledge and experience.

Likes hiking and ink paintings. When inspiration strikes, he writes haiku.

Works in: Japan

HR Assistant Director

Shraddha joined Gojo in August, 2022 as an HR Assistant Director. She has 12 years of experience in HR and has managed Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Performance Appraisal along with managing end to end employee lifecycle. Prior to joining Gojo, Shraddha was associated with EY (Ernst & Young) where one of the most fun project she worked was around driving Wellbeing at work which included surveys, understading employee mindset and customizing Wellbeing programs under diffferent pillars like Social, Financial, Physical and mental wellness. Apart from EY, she has worked with different organizations like Genpact, HCL, Max Bupa Health Insurance and Pearl Academy which has given her exposure across industries.

At Gojo, she leads Human Resource and manages end to end employee life cycle along with focusing on building the right culture.

Shraddha did her Masters in Business Administration from IBS, Kolkata and did her Psychologu Hons. from her hometown Jaipur.

Shraddha lives in Jaipur, Rajasthan with her family. She loves to travel, enjoys going on treks and is an ardent dog lover. She also enjoys meeting new people and building meaningful connections.

Works In: India

PMO Pasio Youth Banking App

Sajin has over 7 years of experience in Android application development. He joined Gojo as a Software Engineer as part of the technology team. He is a Bachelor of Engineering graduate, passed out from Nagarjuna college of Engineering and Technology, Bangalore, India.

Before joining Gojo, Sajin was a Lead Engineer at Seqato, and was responsible for leading the mobile team and developing mobile applications. Prior to Seqato, Sajin worked in companies Rainconcert Technologies, Codeleven Technologies and Businocrats. In his career, he developed Android applications in different categories like Weather, Health & Fitness, Finance, Social, Business, Productivity, Food & Drink, Maps & Navigation etc.

Sajin likes spending free time with family and friends. He loves playing cricket, chess and carrom board, also he loves to listen to all types of songs.

Works In: India

Head of Accounting and FP&A

Ryo is a Certified Public Accountant and works at Gojo as a head of Accounting and FP&A. Ryo has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Keio. While at university he passed the CPA exam, the youngest to do so that year. He did an internship at Ernst & Young Philippines, where one of his clients was a microfinance institution, and was impressed with the purpose of microfinance and its business model.

After graduating, he joined Ernst & Young in Tokyo, where he engaged in financial audits, internal control audits, operations/financial management advisory and financial due diligence for potential M&A. He also spent 2 years on secondment at the EY Los Angeles office, where he was in charge of supporting a unicorn startup company headquartered in the United States. He has experience auditing under IFRS, US-GAAP and J-GAAP.

Ryo is very fond of traveling, reading books, watching soccer and going to the sauna.

Works in: Japan

Corporate Planning Officer

Rania started her journey with Gojo in January 2022 as an intern, working closely with the Corporate Planning and SPM/IM team. She mainly helped develop Gojo’s Impact Reports, write and implement group-wide policies, and conduct social and environmental due diligence. She transitioned to becoming a full-time member in October 2023.

Prior to joining Gojo full-time, Rania studied at Keio University as a MEXT scholarship recipient and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in strategic management. During her time in university, she was a seminar lead for the International Business and Entrepreneurship Research lab, where she often served as student consultant for various companies and published several papers. She also interned at a global manufacturing company and volunteered at an Indonesian education NPO.

In her spare time, Rania enjoys cooking, reading sci-fi, and going to museums and art galleries.

Works in: Japan

Head of Internal Audit

Rajnish has joined the Gojo Group as the Head of Internal Audit from Dec 2021. He is responsible for internal audit function in Gojo Group and collaborating with the internal audit functions with each partner of Gojo. He is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and ISO9001:2015 Lead Auditor. He has a total experience of 20 years in the Banking and Financial space and has worked in various banks and financial institutions.

In his last assignment with Axis Bank, he was responsible for Anti Money Laundering Compliance. He has also worked with the Lulu Financial Group as the Chief Internal Auditor, at their Global Headquarter in Abu Dhabi. In his other job assignments, he has worked with ICICI Bank, PwC, YES Bank and HDFC Life.

In his free time he runs marathon, hikes and listens to music.

Works In: India

Financial Reporting / Accounting

Koharu is a Certified Public Accountant and Tax Accountant in Japan and works at Gojo with a focus on accounting, tax, and financial reporting.

Koharu has a B.A. in Policy Management from Keio University. She passed the CPA exam when she was a sophomore in university and started her career at Ernst & Young Tokyo as an auditor. After spending 4 years focusing on statutory/internal control audits and IFRS implementation projects, she joined Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory and experienced cross-border and domestic M&A advisory, mainly financial due diligence, overall support for carve-out transactions, deal structuring, and PMI projects for 3 and half years.

Outside of Gojo, Koharu delivers several supports to start-ups by building and improving business flows and providing accounting/tax services.

Koharu loves listening to music, watching movies, traveling and visiting hot springs. She also enjoys road biking and hopes to take a long vacation and go around Taiwan by bike in the future.

Works In: Japan

FP&A officer

For Gojo, Ishaq works on Financial Planning & Analysis. As an ex-financial analyst at JP Morgan, he specialised in analysing financials, budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis. Before being an analyst, he worked with Deloitte as a tax senior taking care of all statutory compliances for its clients, assisting in quarterly projections and annual tax planning strategy. At Deloitte, he actively participated in ‘Impact Days’- the company’s initiative to spread social, economical and philanthropic awareness by uplifting underprivileged communities.

Ishaq did his MBA from IBS in Management Finance and graduated in Commerce from Jai Hind College, Mumbai. He is passionate about decentralised finance and digging deep into digital currency protocols.

Ishaq is scrupulous and professionally valued for using agile methods in executing financial analysis. Driven, he targets to grow in leadership positions pertaining to finance. He enjoys watching sports and comedy.

Financial Reporting / Accounting

Hiroko is a Certified Public Accountant and works at Gojo as a member of the finance team, primarily working on accounting and financial reporting.

She passed the CPA exam in Japan while studying at Keio University and after graduation, she joined PwC Aarata LLC, where she engaged in audits of the asset management industry, internal control verification services, financial regulatory advisory services, and experienced audits under IFRS and J-GAAP.

Outside work, she enjoys playing the clarinet and watching baseball games.

Works in: Japan

Chief Operating Officer

Gürol Sari joined Gojo in June 2020 as our Chief Operating Officer, and oversees the strategic and operational development of our partner institutions. Gürol has extensive leadership experience in retail banking, SME finance, microfinance & financial digitalization, as well as experience in turnarounds of several institutions. He has worked in the banking sector for over 30 years in many countries, including Germany, Austria, Myanmar, Turkey, Albania, Russia, Australia, and Tanzania.

From the start of his career, his interest was drawn towards innovation and impact: Gürol created the first fully automated online credit solution in Germany, easyCredit, which is ranked No.1 today in Germany. Prior to joining Gojo, Gürol worked as Chief Operating Officer of Vision Fund Myanmar, where he developed and implemented a fully digitized microfinance system that provided over 300,000 clients in extreme poverty with access to credit, savings, and education. He currently advises several international banks on digitization and change processes.

Gürol has a creative spirit and is always active. He is passionate about architecture, gardening, handicraft (particularly remodeling houses), and loves to bike and to play tennis. He dreams of sailing with his wife once his two children are independent.

Works in: Germany

Financial Reporting / Accounting

Grace has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team with a focus on accounting and financial reporting. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in professional accountancy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Grace started her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) Hong Kong and later relocated to PwC Japan in 2012. At PwC, she engaged in statutory audits and financial reporting advisory projects including IFRS/USGAAP conversions and accounting policy advisory. She was also seconded to the IFRS Foundation Asia-Oceania Office between 2014 – 2016, performed research on tax disclosure and IFRS reporting by jurisdictions. Just prior to joing Gojo, she spent 2 years at Japan Computer Vision Corp., an IT startup company where she was responsible leading the accounting and financial planning and analysis team.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoor with her family and she also loves watching soccer games.

Works In: Japan

Managing Partner

Arnaud has founded and led two of the leading European financial inclusion groups active in Micro and SME finance, as well as digital finance.

Between 1998 and 2008, Arnaud cofounded and led PlaNet Finance with the support of Jacques Attali (Chairman) and Muhammed Yunus (Chairman Advisory Board). It was one of the most successful European financial inclusion groups, providing mainly advisory services in the sector. Between 2008 and 2019, Arnaud founded & led Baobab (formerly MicroCred), the leading Micro&SME digital bank in Africa & China. In 2019 alone, Baobab lent $1 billion to 1 million clients, generating around $200 million total revenues and more than $40 million pre-tax profit.

Arnaud is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. He also cofounded the French China Foundation, the leading network of Young Leaders between France and China, and Share Africa, a platform to promote Africa’s innovation and creativity. Arnaud graduated from EFREI, Paris, in Computer Science, and La Sorbonne in Philosophy. He speaks French, English and Spanish fluently and loves reading history & philosophy. He loves skiing and hiking in the mountains (particularly in the South of France), and has 2 young boys.

Works in: France

Outside Director

Almira has two decades of experience in risk and crisis strategy management, having worked as an advisor, board member and management, as well as having extensive Investment Committee experience. Most recently she was a senior executive in a global, fast-growing Web 3 financial services business and previously a Partner at FTI Consulting where she spent a decade and helped build and ran Global Risk and Investigation Practic in Europe, Central Asia and Africa.

During her formative years, as a Bosnian refugee, Almira experienced challenges relating to remittances and access to finance, which later shaped her keen interest in finacial inclusion and digital finance as well as broader issues of social justice.

Almira is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. She speaks English, Serbo-Croatian and Russian (as well as some basic Tajik). She enjoys reading and cooking with her family.

Regional Finance

Abhishek has joined Gojo & Company as part of the Finance team. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and have over 6 years of experience across banking and financial sector & has worked across housing finance, NBFC ,Micro Finance and fintech. He is originally from Mumbai (India) & currently living in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka in India.

Prior to joining Gojo, he worked at Rupeek Fintech which is asset backed gold lending co. At Rupeek he was responsible for managing the financial reporting & audits of Rupeek Fintech & its subsidary Rupeek Capital.

Outside of work he enjoys playing cricket ,badminton & loves cooking.

Works In: India

Outside Director

Kshama has three decades of experience in Capital Markets, Risk Management and Structured Finance, with the last 15 years focussed on the financial inclusion space in India. Respected for her knowledge and commitment towards the cause of unleashing the power of finance for the greater good, Kshama has been a member of various High Powered Committees setup by the Government of India and has worked on consulting assignments for the World Bank, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and NSEIT. Through her innovative and pioneering work, she has been instrumental in creating and developing the market for debt for the underbanked in India. Kshama is recognised as a leading figure in the Indian financial markets, and in the world of impact investing. She is also the Vice Chairperson of the Northern Arc Group, a leading finance company in India that invests and connects underbanked institutions and businesses to capital markets investors.

She has a bachelors in Mathematics, a Masters in Management and a Ph.D. in Finance. An adventure sports enthusiast, Kshama is a trained mountaineer, sailor, sky diver and an ardent biker.

Legal & Compliance Officer

Starting in October 2023, Yoko is responsible for legal and compliance matters at Gojo. She is a qualified attorney-at-law in Japan.

After becoming a registered attorney-at-law in 2009, Yoko spent five years working in the corporate department of Clifford Chance’s Tokyo office. Subsequently, she joined Recruit Co., Ltd. right after its initial public offering, where she handled a wide range of legal matters, including major M&A transactions, venture investments, stock-based compensation, and disclosure requirements.

In her personal life, Yoko is a mother of two children. She aspires to balance her work at Gojo with parenting and actually enjoying the process. Yoko loves browsing stunning photographs from around the world while contemplating her next vacation destination.

Location: Tokyo

Office Manager

Charm takes care of Gojo team members as the office manager. Having worked in various industries and a strong understanding of different cultures and people from all walks of life, she always strives to make a difference for others. In Gojo, she is dedicated to creating a positive, welcoming, and inclusive environment for everyone.

In her spare time Charm likes to cook, play with cats, doing volunteer work, and watch the sea. She is thankful for her peaceful life with family and friends.

Works in: Japan

Innovation Product Director

Michelle joined Gojo in September 2022 as the innovation product director. She is a seasoned technology and VC executive with pan-Asian experience at leading VC funds and diverse insight spanning e-commerce marketing, venture building, and finance.

Before joining Gojo, she was venture manager at Launcho Ventures focusing on scaling consumer brands focusing on SEA and the US market. Her career has included her significant time at Vertex Venture Holdings, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings. In her four years at Vertex, she made investments across the SEA market and Taiwan. Before Vertex, Michelle was the first employee of Reebonz Taiwan, scaling a luxury e-commerce platform and led the growth of the digital business from the ground up to nearly $USD1 million in its first year. She also worked at the leading grocery startup Honestbee as C-suite manager

During her free time, Michelle enjoys doing yoga, reading, and listening to music.

Outside Director

Royanne Doi is the former Corporate Chief Ethics Officer of Prudential Financial Inc., and former Advisor for Global Legal, Ethics & Compliance to Yamaha Corporation.

Prior to Yamaha, Royanne held senior legal positions with major global financial institutions. At one point, she managed 200+ staff around the world, with business experience in North and South America, Asia, and Europe. During her tenure as a global ethics officer, Prudential Financial received Ethisphere’s designation as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the first time in 2015, and multiple times thereafter. As a member of Gojo’s board, she will further accelerate the strengthening of internal audit and corporate governance to enable the sustainable growth of Gojo group.

Royanne has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy, from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa. She earned her Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law. She is married to her law school sweetheart and has lived in Japan since 1994. She has three passions: economic empowerment for women, Asia with an emphasis on Japan, and the intersection between neuroscience and behavioral ethics.

Works in: Japan

Founder & CEO

Taejun cofounded Gojo in 2014 and has led the company’s growth until today as the CEO. Before Gojo, Taejun worked as an investment professional at Morgan Stanley and Unison Capital. To deal with an enormous number of investment projects, Taejun studied programming and automated many financial models, some of which are used even today.

While working in the sector, Taejun founded Living in Peace, an NGO, in 2007 and created the first microfinance investment fund in Japan. Taejun has been involved in Japan’s child foster care for more than a decade and co-established Japan Office for Standards on Children Services in 2021 to conduct third-party inspections on the local authority children services in Japan.

Taejun is the Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and is the youngest founding board member of Endeavor Japan. He is an author of 9 books, a finisher of the 1648 km ultra-marathon, and a Karate black-belt holder (he just recently started Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and owns a blue belt as of 2022). Taejun is fluent in Japanese, Korean, and English. He plays drums and loves shooting street photos of the world.

Works in: Japan