SKS JAPAN 2023 was a great success.
Thank you very much for your participation.


Creating new industry through collective wisdom
~UNLOCK~

Adam is the Co-Founder of Padang & Co, a Singapore based innovation catalyst that drives sustainable growth by matching start-ups and MNCs to solve problems and develop new opportunities.

Padang has been a key player in the development of the agri-food ecosystem running numerous challenges and establishing innovation hubs for companies like Unilever and DSM. Last year in partnership with SMRT, Padang established Hive, a retail & F&B innovation hub to provide a platform for the future of retail and new F&B options. Padang works across SE Asia and in Europe Adam has partnered with Future Food Institute from Italy, Ecosystem Navigators from the Netherlands and Foodtech Hub LATAM to create global collaboration opportunities.

With the increasing demand for sustainably grown, nutritious food and the impact of climate change Adam is increasingly focused on food tech and climate tech to meet these competing challenges.

An Australian Adam has worked in Asia for over 20 years.

Co-founder Sobo Foods

Adam's newest venture is a California-based startup making plant-based ethnic food known as Sobo Foods. Their first products are plant-based dumplings.

Adam also built My Food Job Rocks in 2016 as a way to show the food industry in a different light: through stories. With over 250 interviews from all over the food industry ranging from the sugar buyer from Mars Wrigley, the egg scientist from JUST, and the dietitian from Taco Bell, there is a place for everyone in the food industry.

Adam Yee is also an accomplished food scientist and entrepenuer. He co-founded Better Meat Co, an alternative protein startup in Sacramento, California, and was an early employee at Motif Foodworks in Boston Massachusettes.

Aki Takino is a Food Scientist originally from Kyoto, Japan. His passion is to solve social issues, especially the global food and nutrition problem using food tech including alternative protein. He currently leads cultivated meat development at an US-based startup GOOD Meat under Eat Just, where he worked on plant-based egg. After he received a master's degree in Food Science from Kyoto University and researched at the University of Groningen and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, he worked for Ajinomoto to develop technologies for meat replacement, etc.

After working for an IT company and a consulting firm, Akihiro joined Sigmaxyz in 2012.
He is engaged in consulting services for new business development and business reforms utilizing digital technology. He is supporting clients based on his deep understanding of advanced technology and experience in its application to business.
He holds a bachelor's degree in science and engineering from Waseda university.

After working for an IT consulting firm and a venture company, she joined Sigmaxyz in 2009. She has been involved in a lot of new business development, including services that contribute to physical, mental, and social health, with a focus on food and healthcare. Her mission is to create a well-being society in "the life of age of 100 years".

Research/Insight Specialist at Multi-Sided Platform Team at Sigmaxyz. Prior to Sigmaxyz, served as Knowledge Specialist for High Tech Sector in Research & Information Group at Global Leading Management Consulting Firm for 10 years. Pursuing the core essence of food, cooking, technology, and science in terms of the evolution of human-being and societies by utilizing her experienced research capabilities.
Aspiration: To find the essence, meaning, and new value of “food” for our lives and planet.

A growth CEO, Ali is best known for tackling big consumer problems, brand strategy & building high
performing, agile teams. Specializing at the intersection of consumer brands, technology & healthy
living, Ali’s value creation track record crosses CPG, retail, technology, healthcare & biotech.
Ali is currently the CEO & Director of Oobli, Inc., a food technology company leveraging precision
fermentation to disrupt sugar. Prior to Oobli, Ali served as the Chief Consumer Officer of Bright Health
Group, EVP of Digital/Chief Brand Officer at Ascena Retail Group, Founder/CEO/ Chairwoman of giggle,
an EIR for a variety of venture-backed consumer software & technology companies & a Corporate
Securities Attorney in the Silicon Valley. Ali launched her career at NIKE in brand leadership & strategy.
In addition to her operating role at Oobli, Ali currently serves as an independent director on the boards
of Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ: CASY) & Worldwide Orphans (WWO), & acts as an advisor to several
growth technology companies. Previously Ali served as an independent director for Bazaarvoice
(NASDAQ: BV) until it was sold to Marlin Equity in early 2018.
Ali lives in the California with her husband, has an only son in college & holds a dual JD / MBA from
Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Ali has completed Harvard Business School’s 2020/2021
Corporate Governance Certificate Program & was recognized among Women's Inc Top 100 Corporate
Board of Directors in 2019.

Industrial Organization Engineer (Bachelor + Double MsC) with experience in strategic consulting and
operational roles in technology startups. In addition, I was part of the founding team of Basque Startups, the association to promote the Basque Country’s technology and startup ecosystem.

Currently, I am the Entrepreneurship Manager at the Basque Culinary Center, the best knowledge center in gastronomic sciences and technologies in the world. In my day to day I help create, scale and internationalize startups in the areas of foodtech, agritech, restaurantech, delivery, food sciences...

Additionally, my global mission is to promote the Basque Culinary Center as a leading global actor in the field of entrepreneurship and startups, collaborating with "First-class partners" and international stakeholders (startups, corporates, VCs, BAs...) that want to be part of the BCC ecosystem.

Andrew founded Big Idea Ventures to help solve the world's biggest challenges by supporting the world's best entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers. Andrew is responsible for investing and building companies across alternative protein, foodtech and the agtech sectors. Andrew works with investors, corporations, and governments to invest and build the most transformative companies and ecosystems around the world. Serving on the Tufts Nutrition Council advisory board, and a Friedman School Entrepreneurship Advisor, Andrew is a Harvard Business School graduate and Procter & Gamble brand management trained. Andrew has invested in more early-stage / pre-seed food companies than most other investors worldwide. Big Idea Ventures has teams and offices in New York, Singapore, and Paris.

In 2006, Andy Lin joined ASE, the world's largest provider of semiconductor manufacturing services, and was promoted to a management position in the sales department during that time. In 2014, he launched his first startup, Sholics, a last-mile grocery delivery system for local residents. In 2016, having been frustrated by the lack of options for good meals in the middle of the night when he himself worked overtime, and being inspired by Japanese retro vending machines, he founded Yo-Kai Express Inc.

Andy received his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University in Taiwan, where he was born and raised. Later, Andy received his Master's degree in EECS (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science) from California State University, Irvine.

Andy Zynga, PhD, is CEO of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food, the world’s largest Innovation Ecosystem in Agri_food He is a thought leader in Food Systems, Innovation, Telecoms and Technology Services. He served as CEO and Board Member of several businesses and has a proven international track record in building profitable businesses in the USA (3 businesses) as well as Europe (3 businesses) as company CEO, resulting in 3 successful exits including one IPO and 2 trade sales.

Specialties: Experience and drive to build businesses to profitability and self sustained revenue generation, corporate turnarounds, as well as getting larger corporate entities through change, Non-Profit Management, European Union Services.

Angela is part of the AgFunder Investment team and is based in Singapore. Her role covers the full spectrum of venture capital investing, including identifying investment opportunities, deal execution, and portfolio support. She has extensive experience in investment management, including previous roles as an Investment Analyst with The State of Victoria, Australia, and an Equity Research Analyst with HSBC. Prior to banking, she was leading Investor Relations roles at various listed companies. She is skilled at conducting financial analysis, due diligence, investment recommendations, and implementing robust investor relations strategies. Angela holds a Bachelor of Communications from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a postgrad in Applied Finance from Macquarie University, Australia.

Barry is a partner at Value Create, a Tokyo-based advisory and investment firm. With a background as a three-time entrepreneur across multiple regions, including the USA, Europe, UK, Japan, and China, Barry brings a wealth of expertise in growth and internationalization to diverse industries. He is particularly passionate about Agri-Food and Sustainability.

As an advisor to large corporate clients, VC firms, and an investor in early-stage startups, Barry firmly believes that established sectors can benefit from embracing creative innovation and borderless operating models to maintain competitiveness.

In his previous role, Barry served as the leader of education publisher StoryToys, where he successfully orchestrated two acquisitions and secured over $13M in funding from global investors, such as PGA Ventures and Silicon Valley's Emerson Collective. Notably, StoryToys was acquired by Team17 PLC in 2021, marking Barry's second successful exit transaction.

Beyond his entrepreneurial endeavors, Barry has contributed to European Commission R&D programs and played a pivotal role in designing and operating Enterprise Ireland's Internet Growth Accelerator Program (IGAP).

Ben is the CEO and co-founder of Fresco, the leading smart kitchen platform for the world's appliance brands. Ben co-founded Fresco (formerly Drop) to empower people to cook better at home. Today Fresco partners with leading appliance brands, including Bosch, Electrolux, GE Appliances, Instant Brands, Kenwood, LG Electronics, Panasonic, and Thermomix, helping them to connect with and serve personalized solutions to home cooks.

Born into an entrepreneurial and food industry family, Ben's first invention was the PerfEGG–a device that creates a perfectly boiled egg–while studying industrial design at Brunel University. In February 2012, he moved back to Dublin and set up a product design consultancy, White Zebra Studios, which was honored by the Institute of Designers Ireland in its first year. In 2012, Ben reignited his passion for food and product design by co-founding Drop and launching their first product–the connected scale.

Buck Jordan is founder and CEO of Vebu Labs (formerly Wavemaker Labs) – a corporate innovation lab whose purpose is to ‘help humans do more’. Vebu Labs founds, funds and scales transformative ventures around the world by developing solutions through robotics and automation. Prior to Vebu Labs, Mr. Jordan was a partner at Wavemaker Partners, a cross border venture capital firm, dual headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, and one of the most active early stage investors in Southern California and Southeast Asia. In addition, Mr. Jordan is President, Cofounder and Chairman of Miso Robotics, focused on building kitchens of the future through AI and robotics. Previously, Mr. Jordan founded Canyon Creek Capital and served as a Captain and Blackhawk pilot in the California Army National Guard.

After graduating from Sophia University, worked in overseas sales at a Japanese financial company.In 2015, joined Oracle to work on enterprise DX PJ, and in 2019, moved to Google, LLC. as Snr Account Mgr, digital marketing strategy development with a focus on retail companies. While working as a corporate employee, also serves as Fitbit Business Development Manager with aspiration to contribute for the improvement well-being in the area of technology and healthcare, leveraging 10 years of experience as a fitness instructor.
Currently teaches reformer pilates and aerial yoga, mainly on weekends, and also holds Google Mindfulness courses internally and externally.

Born in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. After studying peace studies, she joined Sea Vegetable in 2020 and has been involved in various departments including the establishment of the sales department and event management. She is aiming for a future where both the sea and people are healthy by making seaweed a more familiar food like vegetables.

1996: Completion of graduate school of the University of Tokyo
1996: Joined Ajinomoto
1996-2005: Food R&D center, development of nobel food enzyme and fermented seasoning.
2005-2008: R&D planning department in Food company
2008-2010: Section manager of fermented food and seaoning group
2010-2015: R&D/ QA Director of Amoy Food (Hong Kong)
2015-2017: Senior manager of Oversea Foods and Seasonings Dept.
2018-2022: CTO of Istabul Ajinomoto
2022-: General manager, Acceleration group, R&B Dept.
2023- : Senior manager, Green Business development Dept.

Ph.D. (Interdisciplinary Informatics). After working as a researcher at NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] and co-founder of Dividual Inc., he is currently a professor at the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University. He leads Ferment Media Research, an interdisciplinary research group. He has developed "Nukabot," a fermentation robot that enables humans and microorganisms to converse. He has also created with Takumi Endo "Last Words / TypeTrace," an installation that collects the writing process of wills and has exhibied in Japan and abroad while researching the relationship between technology, humans and more-than-human worlds. He is the author of many books, including "Mirai wo tsukuru kotoba: Wakariaenasa wo tsunagu tame ni (Words that Create the Future: To Connect the Unintelligible)" (Shinchosha) and "Mystery Bed: The Editing Technique That Ferments Thoughts (Shobunsha). He is also the translator of "Positive Computing" (MIT press) by Calvo & Peters, and the supervisor and editor of "To Create Our Well-Being: Its Ideas, Practices, and Technologies" (BNN Shinsha), among others.
Photo by Takaya Sakano

Aparna is the Regional Innovation Lead at Bühler for the region of Southeast Asia & Oceania. In this role, she leads innovation strategy in emerging opportunities for sustainable foods and scouts for novel agri-food technology applications with external partners in the ecosystem to develop purposeful and high-impact transformations for the future of food. Her career spanned a decade in the public sector with A*STAR. As head of A*STAR Enterprise’s Agri-Food and Nutrition division, Aparna played a key role in supporting the scientific, business, regulatory and strategy aspects of building up Singapore’s alternative protein capabilities, enabling local food production as part of the nation's food resilience agenda. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from NTU, Singapore, and a PhD in immunology from the Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Italy.

Founder & CEO of CAN EAT Inc.
- CAN EAT is food tech company with the theme of "Stress-free in eating out"
- We provide 2 kinds of IT services to prevent food allergy accidents for restaurants
- Allergy Management System allows you to search for restaurants with menus that you can eat.
- Allergy Questionnaire System Allergy makes it easy to tell the chef what you can't eat when you go to a restaurant

Eric Parkin is the Digital Business Studio Leader for Cargill globally, overseeing Cargill’s transformation to bring tech to the food and agriculture industry. Eric’s team is currently developing new startups inside of Cargill to build a smarter, safer, and more sustainable food ecosystem. Eric is passionate about the role technology will play in shaping the future of food and agriculture for the world and how to accelerate this in partnership with the food ecosystem. Eric has been with Cargill for 12 years and held various data, analytics and business design roles around the globe.
Eric currently resides in Minneapolis, MN in the US with his wife and two sons, who are primary sources for his passion to see a future where his kids will experience positive changes to the food and agriculture system across the globe.

After graduating from Waseda University, VC at JAFCO. CVC at Mitsubishi Corporation, GURUNAVI and MARUI GROUP. Business development at Sockets (pre-IPO), a mobile app development company.
Founded EN-REST Inc. in 2003, developed the Japanese restaurant "kemuri Kagurazaka" into a prosperous restaurant as the first shop manager (currently in its 20th year of operation). Also challenged the Chinese market for 4.5 years with the restaurant "kemuri Shanghai" as a legal representative (sold the company and returned to Japan in 2016).
Traveled whole over the world alone in March 2020, just before the COVID pandemic. Convinced the importance of food and health, and the potential of Japan's food sector. So established VC "kemuri ventures LLC" in May 2020, and launched the Food-Tech fund "Shoku No Mirai Fund" in October 2020.

Hirotaka is a daily farmer and running family business as a third generation.
With the philosophy of NEW* CULTURE, he is working to create new values and update the culture for dairy farming.

*NEW ; In Japanese, "new（乳）" means milk or dairy products.

After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering in Tokyo University, he worked as a management consultant at "Bain & company" for multiple clients. From 1992, he moved to Apple and led the various marketing activities in Japan. After traveling to Europe by land, he started to cook everyday in France while his wife was taking an MBA at INSEAD, afterwards he moved to Switzerland and took his MBA at IMD.
In 2000, he co-founded a streaming media start-up called Generic Media in Palo Alto, and experienced all stages from fundraising of $12M to acquisition of the company. In 2010, He joined Evernote and served as Chairman for Japan, and led $20M investment from NTT DoCoMo and Nikkei respectively, as well as deep product integration and business relations.
At Evernote, his nickname was well-known as Chief Food Officer.

Currently, he is an adviser of Scrum Ventures, All Turtles and mmhmm etc. In autumn 2020, he founded Food Tech Studio - Bites! to promote open innovation between leading Japanese food manufacturers and global start-ups. Also he has been advocating Japanese traditional food and as well as advanced food solution that helps well-being and sustainability in various overseas markets. overseas forIn addition, he published "Foodtech Revolution: A 700 Trillion Yen New Industry: The Evolution and Redefinition of Food" (フードテック革命) by Nikkei BP with the same co-founding members of SKS Japan. Member of All Japan Food Association, director of Meat&Meat Society (肉肉学会), the original advisor for "異能(Inno)vation" program by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC).

2006~ Management consulting CRM group at Accenture
・Projects managed: PMI support for large pharmaceutical corp.; Marketing strategy support for large restaurant corp.; CRM system integration for global luxury brand; Operation optimization for large apparel corp.
2012~ (post MBA) Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd.
・Currently acts as a key member of the Innovation Incubation office, connecting large corps and ventures as well as governments and academia.

1998 Joined Marukome Co., Ltd.
In charge of instant miso product development
Since 2017, he has been in charge of technology development, research and development, and product development in the development department.Current position since 2019

In 2013, Itsuko participated in the launch of an innovation project for new business development at btrax, Inc. in San Francisco, USA. In 2016, she joined BCG Digital Ventures Tokyo as a Strategic Designer, just six months after its establishment. She has been involved in new business development utilizing digital technologies in collaboration with large companies. Since 2020, she has been working in the Strategic Design Department and Product & Brand Marketing Department at Rohto Pharmaceutical. She has also been involved in the management of a cafe company, working on the development of a new food experience based on the concept of the unity of medicine and food, and the supporting ecosystem for it.

Dr. Jen-Yu Huang is the co-founder & CEO of Lypid, a leading food-tech startup in alternative fat. He believes alternative food should be tasty without compromise. Therefore, he co-founded Lypid to make animal fat analogues with plant ingredients. He as a scientist-entrepreneur has the vision to bring technological prospects to commercial fruition. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from the Cornell University and was 2019 Cornell Commercial Fellow. He was featured in ‘Forbes 30 under 30’ list in 2022 and awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Future in 2015 by Epoch Foundation.

Starting career from Mitsubishi Chemical in 1993, Dow Corning in 2006, and Omron in 2015, Kaz was responsible for technology, innovation, strategic marketing, new business development, and global business. While overseeing Royal DSM's Japan operations, he also advocates for sustainability management, food system transformation, and nutrition improvement. He holds a master's degree in science from Osaka University, a doctorate from Mie University in engineering, and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

In 1993, he joined Nipponham Co.
After being assigned to the Processed Foods Division, he was in charge of product development and sales, and then took charge of corporate marketing in the Corporate Task Force and Corporate Planning Department.
In 2021, he took charge of launching new businesses as General Manager of the New Business Development Department.
They are currently developing three businesses (Entertainment, Wellness, and Sustainable Business) based on Nipponham Group Vision 2030 "Unleash new potentials for protein".
Entertainment Business: "Meatful," a website selling new meat experiences
Wellness Business: "Table for All Food Allergy Care," a website offering food allergy-related information and products with the theme of "Support everyone's wants to eat. "Health care online," a health food mail-order site.
Sustainable Business: They launched Nipponham Group's sustainable brand "Mealin' good" in 2023, and started sustainable initiatives and selling sustainable products.

Kevin Yu is the Founder and CEO of SideChef, an all-in-one cooking experience platform that uses tech innovation to guide consumers through a seamless cooking and grocery shopping process. He aims to provide simple solutions to the daily question of "what's for dinner?" through technology such as shoppable recipes, automated cooking, and more.

Born and raised in Silicon Valley as a first generation Asian American, Kevin is a serial tech entrepreneur who perpetually builds products for the future. With a background in the gaming industry, Yu combined inspiration from a failed dinner date and a passion to transform the food industry to pioneer SideChef, a modern and approachable step-by-step platform for people to cook at home with audio and visual cues.

To date, Yu led SideChef to raise over 16 million in funding. Yu is an industry innovator in the Food Tech space as well as a three-time TEDx speaker and noted in Forbes Next 1000 list in 2021. He is dedicated to educating other entrepreneurs on best practices, creative thinking, and invention. Yu holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California.

In June 2000, he founded Oisix Inc. with the corporate philosophy of "creating a rich dietary life for ordinary families" and became CEO. The company is an online grocery store that has built its business delivering organic foods to individuals throughout Japan. In 2016, he made Tokushimaru, a mobile supermarket for shopping refugees, into a subsidiary. In 2017, he achieved business integration with Daichi wo Mamoru Kai and the following year with Radishbo-ya. In 2019, he became a Director of Purple Carrot, a vegan meal brand in the U.S., after the company became a subsidiary of Oisix ra daichi Inc. Oisix ra daichi Inc. is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2020. *Transition to the Prime Market in 2022 due to reorganization to a new market
classification. He also serves as an outside director of Benesse Holdings, Inc.. and SHiDAX CORPORATION.
He is also the President of "Higashi no Shoku no Kai" , the President of Japan Wheelchair Rugby Federation and the Co-Chair Director of Data for Social Transformation, a general incorporated association. At Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives), he is appointed as Vice President in April 2021.

Date of Birth: January 12, 1968
Place of Birth: Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Education: Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Economics
Joined Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in April 1991.
Currently, Director-General for New Business and Food Industry Department, MAFF.

After His graduation on 2014 he joined a domestic financial institution, Deloitte and KPMG.
On 2014 he moved Indonesia with his family and joined a Food manufacture business as CFO for 5 years. On 2019 he moved back to Japan and has Joined Kasumi & USMH business management.

Lorin is an expert on the future of food systems with over 15 years of experience. Prior to founding FutureTable she served as Head of Food Systems Collaboration at the World Economic Forum. She has advised Fortune 500 businesses, start-ups, international organizations, family foundations and NGOs. She speaks regularly at conferences and has published insights including with the Harvard Business Review, Harvard Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, and Forbes. Lorin serves as a mentor (Global Social Benefit Incubator, ReFED), on advisory boards and judging panels (Rockefeller Foundation, Culinary Institute for America, Food System 6), and as an active contributor to several communities (Google Food Lab, among others). An American by birth, Lorin has lived and worked in Africa, Asia and Latin America on food systems initiatives. She received a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

As Senior Director of Workplace Programs, Malcolm Omond leads Google’s renowned food at work program in Asia-Pacific. Malcolm and his team are experts providing an integrated Food Program that enables Google to thrive and maintain the company's reputation as an employer of choice.

Malcolm is one the founders and Executive Sponsor of the APAC Sustainability Committee, a cross functional team driving and supporting the implementation of Google’s Sustainability work in the Asia Pacific region. Malcolm leads and manages internal and external partnerships to explore and tackle the challenges and opportunities in the broader food system. Before joining Google, Omond spent 19 years as a hotelier with various roles at Hyatt and Four Seasons Hotels. Malcolm has Degrees in Economics and Asian Studies from Australian National University.

Established Carmine Works LLC, focusing on business development, startup support, regional revitalization, and social innovation for regenerative communities through food tech, sports innovation, and system thinking. Additionally, he holds positions as Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, and CVO at SUNDRED Co., Ltd., an innovation studio involved in various projects such as living labs and interpreneurship development for corporate, academia, and government clients. He also serves as the Japan Local Executive of Future Food Institute, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Bologna, Italy.

During his tenure at Panasonic, he served as Director in Panasonic Canada, where he successfully managed and executed product and marketing strategies in the Consumer Products Division. He also led new business development initiatives for future growth opportunities at Panasonic Appliances Company. Notably, he initiated the internal innovation accelerator called Game Changer Catapult, focusing on open innovation to bring ideas to life. Additionally, he held a board position in BeeEdge Co., Ltd., a joint venture incubator between Panasonic and a US-based venture capital firm, and played a key role in establishing three new startups. Prior to these business development roles, he served as a global marketing leader in audiovisual categories, collaborating with Hollywood studios, and led corporate-wide Olympic projects, contributing to the International Olympic Committee and local organizing committees.

Apart from his current roles, he is involved as a technology examiner at the Japan Sports Agency and holds an executive director position in marketing at a film production company. MBA, Kobe University.

Participated in research on novel functional foods at Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University from 2008. After completing doctoral course at Shinshu University in 2013, working as a postdoctoral researcher at the same university. Established a university-launched venture company in 2017, Wellnas Co., Ltd., and assumed CEO. Through joint research with Associate Professor Kozo Nakamura, Faculty of Agriculture, Shinshu University, we will develop and start selling the novel supplement containing choline ester derived from eggplant.
In 2019, we launched an “AI diet” business that individually optimizes nutrition. By analyzing body data and nutrient intake data, we identify and adjust the nutrients necessary to improve health and physical function and propose an optimal diet for achieving individual goals. The AI ​diet service and app “NEWTRISH” released in January 2023. Aiming for well-being through food in the AI ​​diet business.

Born in Hyogo, the land of Kobe beef and sake. He left a big corporation to join an agri-tech startup, where he handled business and PR. In 2016, he returned to his roots and launched Sydecas, Inc. Since 2020, he has been pursuing his passion for NinjaFoods, a startup that aims to “making shapes of next generation foods” with traditional Japanese ingredients.

Masahito Hosokawa is the founder and CSO of bitBiome. He also holds a position as an associate professor at Waseda University. He has over 8 years of research experience in the development and application of novel microfluidic tools for single-cell genomics and transcriptomics. Based on this single-cell genomics platform, he founded bitBiome in 2018.
Previously, he worked at Shizuoka Cancer Center between 2011 and 2013, and then moved to Waseda University in 2013 and started single-cell research as a JST-PRESTO researcher in 2015.
His awards include The Young Scientists’ Prize by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2019) and the JST PRESTO Innovation Award (2019). He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.

Executive Officer, General Manager, Green Business Development Department. Corporate Division. Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
Born in Osaka Prefecture. Graduated Master Degree of Food Science & Technology, Faculty / Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University. Joined Ajinomoto Co., Inc. in 1990 at Food Products Development Laboratories. Experienced at Tokyo Sales Branch, Ajinomoto Thailand, R&D Planning Department, Corporate Planning Department, and assigned as General Manager of Product Development Center, Technology & Solution Development Center of Institute for Food Science & Technologies. Assigned Corporate Executive Officer in 2017, Corporate Executive in 2021, Executive Officer in 2022.

+After joining Matsushita Electric Industry(Panasonic) in 1989, she worked in the field of manufacturing and was involved in the development of cooking appliances as a quality control member
+ 2016: Selected as a project member(1st term) of the Game Change Catapult(GCC) . Became a co-designer (together with Ms. Mizuno) of a specialized cooking appliance, called Deli-Softer, which softens cooked food while maintaining the appearance and taste of the food.
+ March 2017: Prototype presented at SXSW(South by Southwest) in the U.S.
+ June 2017: Launched a voluntary circle "Team Ohana" with Ms. Mizuno.
+ April 2019: Founded GIFMO Co., Ltd. and became the first company to commercialize from GCC.

Melissa Snover is an award-winning entrepreneur and disruptor in the world of food technology and 3D printing. She is passionate about developing innovations which offer solutions to her customers, challenge her competitors, and innovate current market offerings. She is currently the founder and CEO of Rem3dy Health which pioneers personalised solutions across preventative and curative health under the brands Nourished (Personalised Nutrition) and Scripted (Personalised Medicine).

Melissa has been a successful entrepreneur for over 15 years, and is the inventor or several new patented technologies. She is a visionary for the use of 3D printing in mainstream manufacturing on a global scale and recently raised the highest ever female founder seed round in UK history for Rem3dy. She is an ambassador for women’s equal access to finance, as well as being an avid supporter and mentor; supporting young people of all backgrounds to begin studying in STEM fields.

As head-of-editorial-content of WIRED JAPAN, a media publication that implements the future, worked on WIRED.jp / WIRED's speculative zone "SZ Membership" / magazine (latest issue VOL.49, special feature "THE REGENERATIVE COMPANY") / Sci-Fi Prototyping Institute, etc. Before joining WIRED JAPAN in 2018, was editor-in-chief of NHK Publishing's academic book editorial department. the Moonshot Ambassador for the Cabinet Office. Translator of Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence (James Lovelock). Born in Tokyo and lives in Kamakura.

1994 University of Tokyo, B.A. Economics
2000 Boston University, M.A. Economics

1994 Ministry of International Trade and Industry
2020 Suntory Holdings Limited

He joined NTT DATA Corporation in 2003, after working for Nippon Express Co., Ltd. in charge of global logistics operations in the UK.
He currently responsible for sales, marketing and consulting functions for the process-manufacturing business industries (food and beverage, CPG, etc.).
He has spoken at various public and private events (Nikkei Foodtech Conference 2020, 2021, 2022 and many others) to contribute to Digital Transformation (DX) solutions in the food and beverage industries, especially in the food, health and life science industries.
He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA). He served as Associate Professor at Tama University (Organization of Research and Development The Institute of Supply Network Management and Strategy) from 2006 to 2010.
He is a member of the SPACE FOODSPHERE Research and Development Promotion Council and has also been Associate Professor at Miyagi University (Department of Food Science and Business) since 2021.

Mizuki Komasa graduated from Keio University with a master's degree in Bioinformatics in 2008. He worked for a Japanese investment bank, after which he joined Real Tech Fund in 2015. He has been supporting a wide range of technology startups from space cargo ships, small satellites, avatar robots, and food production technologies that can potentially expand humanity into deep space. In 2020, he founded SPACE FOODSPHERE which aims to solve food problems on Earth and in space, and is currently the representative director.

After graduating from Complutense University in Spain in 1990, worked for a major Japanese manufacturer in Spain Worked for the Economic and Commercial Department of the Embassy of Spain in December 1995
While supporting Japanese companies' expansion into Spain, investment, and global alliances, he also participates in related seminars and writes for industry magazines. His areas of expertise are renewable energy, mobility, food tech, and general social infrastructure. After that, he worked for a major Japanese manufacturer in Spain.

Joined KASUMI CO., LTD. in March1978.Appointed Director in May 2000, Senior Managing Director in May 2007, and President and Representative Director in March 2012 in KASUMI.
In March 2015, appointed Executive Vice President of United Super Markets Holdings Inc. (U.S.M.H.), that established in a business integration of The Maruetsu,Inc., KASUMI CO., LTD. and MaxValu Kanto Co.,LTD, then President and Representative Director (current position) since March 2017 as well as Executive Officer, Supermarket Business of AEON, and Director of KASUMI (current position). In March 2019, appointed Executive Vice President and Representative Executive Officer of AEON. In March 2020, appointed Executive Officer, Supermarket Business & Merchandising and Logistics and in March 2021, Executive Officer, Supermarket Business of AEON. In March 2022, appointed Executive Officer and Vice Chairman, Special Mission of the Company of AEON (current position).
As President and Representative Director of U.S.M.H. with around 530 stores in Tokyo metropolitan area, is driving promoting structural reform based on digitalization and repeating collaboration and emergence to create new value propositions.

Nabila Rodríguez is chemical engineer, analytical chemist and gastronomic scientist researcher at Alchemist Explore, R&D division from Alchemist Restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. Focus on science in gastronomy, from sustainability to product development. Master in gastronomic science at Basque Culinary Center. Ph.D studentin gastronomic sciences, between Basque Culinary Center and Harvard University, researching in kokumi sensation where she studies microbes as a community to produce aromas and taste in miso.

My name is Naoki Tsujimoto, and I am an attorney at Nishimura & Asahi.

My practice focuses on corporate legal affairs and matters involving the food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries.

In the corporate area, I mainly handle legal matters relating to start-ups, cooperation between large corporations and start-ups, and M&A transactions.

In the food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries areas, I provide legal services to a variety of businesses.
For example, I recently assisted with the development of industry standards for labeling of plant　based foods, provided strategic advice to the authority that oversees distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages, and advised clients on compliance with domestic and international regulations governing food additives and gene-edited foods.

I also serve as chairman of the Food Labeling Committee of the Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture and as an auditor for the Smart Breeding Council.

Nishimura & Asahi has established an Agri-Food Practice, which specializes in laws and issues relating to food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Our team has more than 20 attorneys, and handles a variety of cases.

I look forward to sharing my opinions and experience with you.

Thank you very much.

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1969.
Joined Nakano Vinegar in 1993. After working in the Sales Division, Merchandising Planning Department, and Strategic Planning Department, became Vice President of Mizkan Co., Ltd.
Succeeded in greatly expanding needs with the power of vinegar campaign.
In August 2018, became the project leader of the new business and launched the ZENB brand from scratch. Currently, while concurrently serving as a director of Mizkan Holdings Co., Ltd., as the CEO of ZENB JAPAN Co., Ltd., oversee a project involving more than 100 people, aiming to expand the D2C brand aiming for a new diet that contributes to the health of people, society and the earth. is progressing.

Dr. Omid Bakhshandeh is an AI scientist and co-founder of Verneek, a deep tech Generative AI startup backed by business and scientific luminaries. Verneek is a consumer AI pioneer with the mission of building the most helpful AI that augments your knowledge in everyday life, anywhere. Omid has almost two decades of experience in the research and development of AI systems, having founded and successfully led various AI teams. Before Verneek, he held research positions at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), Adobe Research, and the University of Rochester. He received his PhD in AI with a focus on Natural Language Understanding and Dialogue Systems, having pioneered building systems that have a domain-general understanding of language. He is a published author in major AI publications.

Pasi Vainikka is CEO and Co-Founder of Solar Foods, a food tech company that develops innovations for global food production. Before becoming Solar Foods’ CEO, he led a strategic initiative named Neo-Carbon Energy, the single-largest renewable energy research in Finland. Spin-off projects from the Neo-Carbon Energy initiative include Soletair’s pilot plant that produces fuel from air, Neo-Carbon-Food concept for producing healthy protein from air that has been commercialized by Solar Foods, as well as the “Internet of Energy”, the world’s first simulation for a global 100% renewable electricity system.

Dr Vainikka is the Mission Innovation (MI) Champion for Finland. MI is a global initiative involving 24 countries and the European Commission working to accelerate global clean energy innovation. The Champions are individuals with a track record of progressing creative new ideas that can drive the pace and scale of the clean energy revolution. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT).

Dr Vainikka has held positions as Principal Scientist in strategic research management at VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, as well as in the management of VTT’s contract research in energy. Previously, he served as Deputy Technology Manager of VTT’s bioenergy knowledge center, research team leader and a researcher.

Dr Vainikka holds a Master of Science degree in Energy Systems from Cranfield University, a Master of Science degree in Energy Economics from LUT, and a Doctor of Science degree in Process Chemistry from Åbo Akademi.

Paulo Silveira is a food engineer who graduated from Unicamp in 1982, with an MBA from Fundação Getulio Vargas, in 1987. He also joined international courses like Marketing Strategy - Columbia University; Mergers and Acquisition - Wharton University; IMD – Business Strategy.
He was CEO of Danisco Ingredients for Latin America and developed the ingredients business in the region. 
He is a board member of several companies and was awarded the TOP FIVE EXECUTIVES IN BRAZIL by the Brazilian media outlet Gazeta Mercantil in 1999. He is the founder of the FOOD TECH HUB Latam, an ecosystem for food innovation in Latin America, focusing on open innovation and investment in FoodTechs.

Robin Liss is an experienced technology entrepreneur with a passion for enabling consumers with information and technology. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of Suvie, a WiFi-enabled multi-zone countertop combination cooker and refrigerator kitchen robot with a frozen meal subscription. Ms. Liss is the founder and former CEO of Reviewed.com, a leading consumer technology and home appliance review publication. She led Reviewed.com as a startup and sold it to Gannett / USA TODAY in 2011. Ms. Liss has appeared frequently on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, and numerous local TV stations. She also has been profiled in “CNN Sunday,” The Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, and CBS Sunday Morning.

Ms. Liss graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with a B.A. in Political Science from Tufts University, where she studied collaboration between local governments, the private sector, and non-profit organizations.

Born in Obihiro City, Hokkaido. After graduated from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University, worked for Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. in charge of housing business, and after being transferred at Tokyo Tatemono USA, made various transactions of domestic and overseas property as cross-border business. From 2021, striving to create food ecosystem for a sustainable society with various partners.

PhD in Sciences. CEO of AZTI since 2004. Member of the boards of companies in the food sector (New Food Spray, Roboconcept, Apaprocesing) as well as several related foundations in food innovation and safety, quality and excellence (Basque Culinary Center, Euskalit Euskampus, Aquarium of San Sebastiany Elika).
Over 100 scientific publications, spoken at over 50 conferences, inventor on 8 patents, directed 5 doctoral thesis and has also participated in 6 books.
It also has extensive teaching experience as a professor in Master in European Studies at the University of Deusto, Master of Quality Management School engineers, Madrid, professor at Master Food Safety, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid and the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition.

Rusty Schwartz is the founder of KitchenTown, a leading food startup incubator and innovation platform helping to develop, commercialize, and launch impact-driven food products. As a lifelong entrepreneur, Rusty has a keen knowledge of the launch roadmap and the pitfalls entrepreneurs face as they scale up their companies, and is relied on by many entrepreneurs to help de-risk food ventures. With production, lab, and pilot space in San Francisco and Berlin, food startups and legacy brands have access to commercial scale equipment, product development lab, and consumer research team. Founded in 2014, KitchenTown has worked with hundreds of startups, helping to drive positive change in the food system from the ground up.

Ryosuke Sakaki
Art Director, Dentsu Inc
Founder, OPEN MEALS
Founder, Future Vision Studio

Sara is an experienced social entrepreneur and thought leader in the food ecosystem. As a seasoned growth expert, she works with globally recognized, high-profile think tanks on setting the agenda for the sustainable food industry.
Described as a game-changer who knows how to drive change, she has a flair for exploration and prosperity thinking.
Over the past 10 years, she has focused on a mission to take food leaders and youth to the next phase of action through education, research projects, and innovation challenges.
In 2013, she founded Future Food: a purpose-driven ecosystem facilitating positive transformation in life on earth, promoting food innovation as a strategic element to achieve sustainable and impactful growth, and in 2020, after the pandemic broke out, she birthed the Pollica - Paideia Campus, a Mediterranean Living Lab, a prototype of a sustainable village, where one can learn a new kind of sociality and live the concept of integral ecology, combining environmental protection and human health, regeneration of the territory and citizens' well-being, social justice, and climate change.
She is the Italian Focal Point for the network of the Emblematic Communities of the Mediterranean Diet UNESCO, she recently co-founded the goodaftercovid19.org initiative and, among others, she is also a member of the Google Food Lab; partner, and board member of the Food For Climate League; Ambassador of the Agrifood Tech & Wellbeing thematic area of the Federated Innovation project @MIND; and President of the Scientific Committee of "Fondazione Italia Digitale".

Founder | Innovator | Thought Leader | Investor

Leader of Innovation and Strategy in the food and beverage industry with over 35 years’ experience. Currently the Founder and Head of MISTA as well as VP of Innovation for Givaudan. I define innovation as creating mindset, culture, and ways of working that enable a company to continuously evolve and adapt to changing conditions and opportunities, manifesting in the creation of new futures. I am passionate about creating new experiences that enable people, teams, and companies to integrate new thoughts, leading to new realities and paradigms.

I founded MISTA with the purpose to transform the global food system to meet the needs of the future… an abundant future that nourishes and delights people and planet. Exploring, experiencing, reflecting, and integrating together, as an ecosystem, is how we achieve the purpose. If not us, who? If not now, when?

After graduating in Tourism Management, Semi Hakim continued his career as a chef after receiving his professional culinary training in Istanbul. As a chef, he conducted research projects on food and culture, worked on gastro-diplomacy projects, coordinated food events across the globe, and led projects supporting small-scale agri-food producers in Turkey.

In 2015 with Shirley Kaston, Semi Hakim co-founded the Kök Projekt. Kök Projekt is an agri-food management consulting company that is a startup accelerator and a corporate innovation partner with companies, governmental organizations, and investment funds. Kök Projekt works to empower agri-food entrepreneurs while supporting the digitalization and the climate adaptation of agri-food sectors within Emerging Markets.

Molecular Cooking Scientist. Graduated from the Graduate School of Agricultural Science of Tohoku University. Worked as Assistant/lecturer at Kitasato University, Visiting lecturer at the University of Guelph, Canada, and Associate Professor at Miyagi University. Specialized in Molecular Cooking Science. A representative for the Molecular Cooking Society (www.molcookingsoc.org). My research crosses food with “art x science x design x engineering.

Senior Executive Officer in charge of Digital Manufacturing at SIGMAXYZ Inc. A expert in the business development of advanced technologies such as Robotics and 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing). Recently he established the 'Consortium for Future Innovation by Cultured Meat' in partnership with institutions such as Osaka University, Shimadzu Corporation, Itoham Yonekyu Holdings and Toppan Inc. They plan to exhibit at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo.
Additionally, he led the establishment and operation of the 'AM Research Group' composed of over 150 AM-related corporations, universities, and research institutions. He also served as a technical advisor and examiner for national projects such as NEDO and SIP. He has numerous experiences speaking at external seminars. He supervised "'New manufacturing' 3D printer utilization front line" (NTS Publishing).

He finished his Ph.D. course in Applied Biotechnology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo. (Ph.D. in Agriculture.)
He joined Leave a Nest since 2003, in its early stages of establishment. After accumulating experience in science workshop and article writing, he developed and introduced advanced technologies in the agriculture field, and launched a project to build a ecosystem for regional start-ups. He is committed to technology and business development in collaboration with major and medium-sized companies, venture companies, and researchers with a hands-on approach.

It has been 34 years since we started growing tea without relying on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.
We have been practicing organic farming using microorganisms for about 25 years, with soil preparation as our first priority.
Fertilizer is home-made fermented organic fertilizer, and homemade fermented liquid using natural wild grass instead of pesticides.

All of this is because we would like to bring out the benefits of tea as a medicine, just like when it was used as the herbal medicine, and we hope people to enjoy it safely and deliciously.

After working for Recruit Cosmos, Kenichi Omae's office, and the development of Shibuya's Cat Street, he established Cafe Company, Inc. in 2001. With the theme of "creation of community", he has planned and operated about 80 restaurants including WIRED CAFE in Japan and abroad, and has been involved in regional revitalization projects and production of commercial facilities, etc. In 2023, under the philosophy of "Creating the future of food from ZERO” to support primary producers and others involved in the food industry, established ZEROCO Co.. The company mission is to build a foundation to support food industry development and contribute to solving global issues. He is also a task force member of the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and other government committees. He is also the representative director of Higashi-no-shoku-no-kai, which aims to restore food in eastern Japan area, the representative director of Oishii Mirai Kenkyusho, which aims to contribute to a sustainable future with "delicious" at its core. He has also served as a board member of the Food & Entertainment Association of Japan, which aims to create and develop new businesses, revitalize markets, and foster industries through the fusion of food, drink, and entertainment. His recent publications include "Delicious Economy: New Japanese Vision for 2050, the Turning Point of the World".

Founded BASE FOOD, Inc in 2016 with the mission of " Bring innovation to staple foods to share healthy and sustainable lifestyle with everyone." Since the launch of "BASE FOOD" in 2017,
cumulative sales have exceeded 100 million bags. Listed on the TSEGM in November 2022.

Taichi Isaku is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of CoCooking, the company behind Japan's top food rescue app TABETE. The app reduces food waste by matching excess food at restaurants/retail with people seeking for eco-friendly food options. As of July 2023, approx. 2.6k stores and over 760k users have joined the fight against food waste, rescuing over 700k meals from waste. From his passion for a sustainable food system, he is in charge of the product and branding of TABETE as the company's CPO.

Born in 1995, graduated from Kyoto University. She built two schools in Cambodia as a representative of an international cooperation organization while she was at the university. Later, she studied at a business school in New York. At a local news bureau, she was involved in coverage of the 2016 presidential election and the UN General Assembly as an assistant producer.
Through various experiences, she felt the need to "support players in solving social issues" and founded taliki Inc. during her senior year of university after returning to Japan. While incubating more than 250 social entrepreneurs mainly in the Kansai region and promoting business development and open innovation at listed companies, she also established a VC for solving social issues as the youngest female representative in Japan in 2020 and is engaged in investment activities.

March 1998 MA of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
April 1998- Accenture Japan K.K. : Senior Manager
March 2006- Revamp Corporation : Operating Officer
August 2013- nine hours, Inc. : CEO

TAKAMITSU ASANO experienced nutritional science and bioengineering research in graduate school and business planning, finance, distribution planning, organization building, and recruiting in a global consumer product company and then became a board director of Learning Initiative, Inc., dedicated to program innovation and development work at higher education institutions and the creation of industry-academia collaboration projects. Additionally, the work scope has been expanded to business development based on life insight in MSD inc. as a board director. From 2019, Space Life related to projects such as "BOSAI SPACE FULFILMENT PROJECT", "Think Space Life" and "SPACE FOODSPHERE" have been becoming one of focused business areas. Other life works include researcher and lecturer experiences under the theme of "Social Design" and "Gerontology"at Ritsumeikan University, cooperative research activity in Food and Health Sciences at University of Tsukuba and R&D director in YOMIURI BRAND STUDIO.

After working as an entertainment content producer, Takayoshi joined SELON INDUSTRIES, the family business that invented and developed the word “planter” for the first time in Japan and spread it to the world. In 2015, he founded PLANTIO to redefine and reinvent the original planter.
However, he believes that the essence of his grandfather's invention was not to develop a high-performance planter, but to create an opportunity to get in touch with agriculture, and in 2020 he launched the "grow" brand. He aims to democratize food and agriculture.

Born in 1990 in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture. I’m a kaiseki chef, chairman of the Ecology Life Study Group, and director of the Shizuoka Prefecture Blowfish Association. Not good at history. After graduating from Numazu National College of Technology, I worked for a regional trading company in Shimanto Town, Kochi Prefecture, doing mail order, tourism, roadside station, and product development. 2014, I returned to the family business, Kakecha Ryori Muto, with my brother, Taro Muto, where I currently work. I have been interested in regional revitalization and primary industry since my student days, and continues to be involved in a wide variety of community management and agriculture. In the process, i am constantly thinking about how to fuse analog and digital technologies to make the world a more enjoyable place.
In July 2021, we started distributing Podcast "TABEMONO RADIO". I serve as the main personality with my brother Taro. As of July 2023, we have delivered 180 episodes with 650,000 views. The "Enchanted Sugar" series has over 20 deliveries and is 16 hours long, but it still received a lot of response, and I encourage anyone who is not a history buff or involved in food to listen. The world today will look a little different.

I launched the "Megourmake Project," which aims to create local communities through food and agriculture revitalization in Japan. The project will create co-creation with local challengers across the country that transcends the boundaries of the region.

In June 2022, Taro Fujie was appointed Director, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO of Ajinomoto, Co., Inc. He joined Ajinomoto Co., Inc. in 1985 and was promoted General Manager, China Department in July 2008. He contributed to business expansion of Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation. In 2015, He assumed President of Ajinomoto do Brazil Industria e Comercio de Alimentos LTDA. After that he directed the operational excellence project as Corporate Vice President of Ajinomoto, Co., Inc. Fujie was born on October 25, 1961 in Osaka prefecture, Japan.

Born in Shizuoka prefecture in 1978. After working as sales in a telecommunication company, started to work in the kaiseki cuisine restaurant "Kacha-ryori Muto" since 2014.
In 2021, He became the president of the restaurant. In the same year, started a podcast program as the main speaker, "Tabemono-Radio, learning food and its history with fun," with his younger brother Takuro Muto who is co-owner of that restaurant. They are delivering the joy of re-recognizing life from the perspective of food, with the theme of “By knowing food and its roots, your daily dish becomes even more enjoyable.”
He has tried to shift restaurants from "a place to serve food" to "a place to enjoy a well time through meals". In this process, he came to thinking about the fundamental values of "eating" and "food", which led to the current radio program. They are exploring the food industry beyond the category of restaurants.
He is curious and perfectionist. If there is something interesting, he tries to explore until he gets satisfied. He is good at observing from various angles, and particularly interested in human behavior. His favorite words are "knowledge is the source of wisdom", "A blooming flower on a living tree is more surprising than a flower on a dead tree", and "Spiritual awakening cannot be experienced with words and letters".

・Taro Ozaki is Managing Executive Officer and Co-Head of Food, Agribusiness and Corporate Banking of The Norinchukin Bank, spearheading both financial and non-financial services practice for food & beverage, fishery and forestry sectors across the globe.
・He‘s a seasoned professional both in banking and investments with more than 30 years of relevent experiences. Also, he's enthusiastic about sustainability and innovation of food & agri systems
・He's an avid golfer.
・Place of birth is Shimada city in Shizuoka prefecture.

As Director of the Distribution Industry at Sigmaxyz, Tetsuya provides consistent support to clients such as convenience stores, manufacturing retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, food services, wholesalers, Shosha, and more.

Born in Fukuoka. After working as a JSPS Research Fellow, finished Ph.D. in Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyushu University.
Since 2018, joined Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. and engaged in business planning, office building operation management, and promotion of technology implementation.
From 2021, also engaged in the planning and operation of the "Future Food Innovation Workshop," which works with students to come up with ideas for solving social problems and implementing them in society, and in the operation of the "Challenge Kitchen," which holds contests for young chefs and supports them in setting up their own businesses.

Involved in new business creation and smart kitchen related businesses at Cookpad for 6 years. Supported SKS JAPAN (2017-) and Foodtech Venture Day (2019-) by Sigmaxyz since their inception, and after working as an advisor for Sigmaxyz, he officially joined in 2022. As a foodtech specialist, and well versed in domestic and international startups and provides industry insights such as chaos maps. Works as a part-time lecturer at the University of Tokyo Graduate School, where designs and implements curriculum for startup-style new business creation. Has many experience in supporting startups and large corporations in their new business creation.

Tomonari Cotani
Freelance editor. After graduating from the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Chuo University in Japan, Cotani worked for publisher Shufu To Seikatsu Sha, before joining Esquire Magazine Japan. After working as the senior editor for Esquire Japan, he became freelance in 2009. While involved in editing and writing for lifestyle magazines including BRUTUS, GQ JAPAN, and T JAPAN, Cotani participated in the reboot of WIRED JAPAN in 2011. In 2020, Cotani was appointed as Director of the WIRED Sci-Fi Prototyping Lab. In 2023, he became WIRED JAPAN Editor at Large.

Born in Okayama. After working in various publishing genres including architecture, interior design, and design books, he first published Discover Japan in 2008 with the theme of rediscovering Japan's charm. In November 2018, he established Discover Japan Inc. as president and editor-in-Chief. With magazine media as its core, the company is actively involved in event planning and community building, digital business, and overseas expansion.

I opened TOKYO FOOD LAB in 2019 and started Future Food Japan with Future Food. I established TOKYO FOOD INSTITUTE as a general incorporated association in 2021. I aim to build a new food ecosystem to realize a sustainable society.

Valerie is the Innovation Associate at GFI APAC. In her role, she acts as the first point of contact at GFI APAC for alternative protein startups, investors and accelerators. She also does community building to connect the alternative protein ecosystem in Asia together.

Joined ORBIS in 2013.
2013～　After working in the accounting of overseas subsidiaries in Taiwan, Singapore, etc., transferred to the Corporate Strategy Dept.
2018～　Participated in developing the mid-term plan for rebranding and a long-term vision for 2029.
2020～　Manager of the New Business Development Group. Launched personalized skin care service "cocktail graphy" / "INNER COLOR SALAD" in collaboration with PLANTX, etc.
July 2023～ Current position.

Yoshiki earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Science from the University of Tokyo, a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from Harvard School of Public Health, and a PhD in Medicine from Jichi Medical School.
As a public health researcher, entrepreneur, and science journalist, Yoshiki is working at the intersection of science, business, and government as a catalyst with the aim of advancing the well-being of society.

Born in 1977 in Ureshino City, Saga prefecture.
President of Wataya Besso, a ryokan (Japanese-style inn) in Ureshino.
In 2000, he left university and joined Wataya Besso Co., Ltd. but due to the poor performance of the family business, he resigned from the company and became a consultant for the revitalization of ryokans. For about 10 years, he was engaged in the revitalization of as many as 70 onsen（hot spring）ryokan throughout Japan.
After taking over the position of president of Wataya Besso in 2013, he overcame a management crisis by leveraging the creativity and human network he had cultivated over the years.
In addition to ryokan management, he has produced innovative projects to the onsen resort area Ureshino, such as the "Hakoniwa Art Festival" in 2014, "Ureshino Tea Time (tea tourism)" in 2016, and "Yoi no Bijutsukan (art museum)" in 2016. In 2018, he opened the auberge "aritahuis" in Arita and in 2020, he invited the satellite office to the Wataya Besso, which was the case in Japan. Now, there are 11 offices in there. In November 2021, as part of the RebornWatayaProject, he opened seven stores, including "BOOKS&TEA Sanfuku," a bookstore for enjoying Ureshino tea and reading, Soejimaen's main store, and “Made in Pierre Hermé.” In 2021, he became the vice chairman of the Ureshino Onsen Tourist Association, and In March 2022, he established the "Onsen Incubation Center (OIC)"

In 2015, he co-founded Metagen, Inc. and became a director while a master’s student at the Tokyo Institute of Technology Graduate School of Life Science and Technology. In 2018, he completed a doctoral course at the same graduate school and a doctoral education course at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Program for Leading Graduate Schools, Education Academy of Computational Life Sciences (ACLS), Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has a Ph.D. in Engineering. After serving as COO and CSO of the company, he assumed his current position. In 2020, Temporary member of the Industrial Structure Council, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Since 2023, he has been a temporary member of the Science and Technology Council of the MEXT. With the mission of "Make gut environment-based healthcare a new norm", he is working to create a market for "Gut Design®," which controls the gut environment based on scientific evidence, which is unique to each individual.

After completing masters course in pharmacy (registered pharmacist), she joined Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. She has been building her career by first being in charge of pharmacological evaluation of OTC medicine, food and cosmetics, followed by formula development, then further expanding into new business development and strategical designs. Currently she is in charge of alliances and business connections and is using her expertise in science and business to the full extent. Under the Rohto Group’s corporate vision "Connect for Well-being", she aims to maximize the well-being of people, nature, and society through food.

Sci-Fi writer.

Born in 1984, Mr. Maeda joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007 after graduating from the University of Tokyo with a Bachelor of Economics degree.
After working in development cooperation, nuclear energy, and ministerial secretariat duties, he became in charge of climate change in 2017. During his tenure, as for the domestic policy, he contributed to the development of roadmaps towards Japan’s goal in achieving decarbonization while reflecting the spirit of the Paris Agreement. With regard to the climate diplomacy, he was engaged in multilateral negotiations in the process such as G7 and G20. In this process, he coordinated various national strategies, including the Long-term Strategy under the Paris Agreement. In addition, in G20 process, he led the discussion on global environment as well as climate change, which became the major contribution to the success of G20 Osaka Summit.
In 2020, he decided to change his duty field from diplomacy to climate change. While developing renewable energy projects, he actively communicated to the public the importance of addressing climate change. He is a frequent contributor to President Online and other publications. He also published a book, "Understanding in 60 Minutes! A Super-Introduction to Carbon Neutrality", which is now on sale.
In 2022, he joined SIGMAXYZ Inc. and is now in charge of supporting decarbonization of private sectors, including strategy reforms. In addition to this duty, he supports decarbonization of countryside of Japan and in this connection, he became an official advisor to Minakami Town and Katashina Village, Gunma Prefecture as well as Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture. He is also continuing his work in communicating the importance of climate action to the public, not just only by being an author or editor of climate and decarbonization related articles but also by being a YouTuber. His YouTube channel “GX Channel” is offering various insights about current trend of climate change and decarbonization.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
4/1996-Present MUFG Bank, Ltd.　Tokyo, Japan
MUFGBK was established in 2006 through the merger of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and The UFJ Bank Ltd. Joined the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. in 1996
4/2022-Present Managing Director, Head of Corporate Banking Division No.5
• Head of Corporate Banking Division covering large Japanese corporate clients in chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, paper manufacturing, food & beverage, and personal products industries.
3/2020-3/2022 Managing Director, Deputy Chief of Staff, MUFG Union Bank, New York, U.S.A
• Assumed Deputy role covering Corporate Planning Group, Americas Holding Division, IBOR Transition Office and etc.
4/2018-3/2020 Managing Director, Head of Corporate Planning Group, Chief of Staff, MUFG Union Bank, New York, U.S.A
• OCC (Office of Currency Control) Consent Order remediation program in the First Line of Defense.
• Drove the IBOR (Interbank Offered Rate) Americas project as the leading member of IBOR PMO.
• Supervised OKR (Objective and Key Result) and BSC (Balanced Scorecard)
4/2016-4/2018 Chief Manager, Kyoto Commercial Banking Office, MUFG Bank in Kyoto, Japan
• Responsible for various banking transactions such as investment banking including M&A and equity finance, commercial banking, global transaction banking, and financing
1/2014-4/2016 Senior Manager, Strategic Planning Department, Global Planning Division, MUFG Bank, Tokyo, Japan
• Responsible for planning initiatives for MUFGBK’s global transaction banking business, overseas Japanese large corporate banking, and global retail and commercial banking business

4/2011-1/2014 Senior Vice President, Global Business Coordination Unit,
National Banking, Union Bank, N.A. (currently MUFG Union Bank) in San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
• Supported global business opportunities for the bank corporate clients and assisted and advised American corporates to initiate or augment global business abroad such as in China, India and Europe by leveraging MUFG global network.
6/2006-6/2010 Manager, Corporate Banking Division No.2 Corporate
Banking Group No.1, MUFG Bank, Tokyo, Japan
• Responsible for relationship management of Japanese leading companies of steel industry, such as Nippon Steel Corporation　(the world’s second largest steel maker), JFE Steel Corporation, Sumitomo Metals Industries Ltd, Mitsubishi Steel MFG
4/2004-6/2006 Manager, Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB)
Division, MUFG Bank, Tokyo, Japan
• Planned and developed the strategy for blue-chip corporation business
• Proposed various corporate strategies to blue-chip corporations, such as M&A, equity finance, alliance
• Proposed sector integration, such as retail sector and electric device sector
4/1996-4/2004 Banking Officer, Osaka, Shinjuku, Kawasaki Branches

EDUCATION
4/1991-3/1996 The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Bachelor’s Degree in Law, March 1996
• Majored in Public Law
6/2010-4/2011 University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business
Visiting Scholar

ADDITIONAL
• Chartered Member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan (CMA)
• Information Technology Passport Examination

He joined Boston Consulting Group in 2015 and has experience in new business development, global strategy, and organizational reform projects.
Founded Techmagic in 2018. TechMagic develops "cooking robots" and "business robots" with the vision of "realizing a sustainable food infrastructure society through technology. TechMagic has collaborated with food manufacturers such as Ajinomoto, Kewpie, and Nissin Foods, as well as major restaurant companies such as Pronto Corporation, to sell "noodle robots," "washing and sorting robots," and "serving robots" that integrate hardware and software.

After a career in overseas sales, intellectual property, business development, she is now in charge of new business development at Panasonic, on the other hand, she founded and operates the "Uchujin (Space Alien) Club," a volunteer group that creates seeds for space business that awarded the 1st IP BASE AWARD/JAPAN INNOVATION DAY2020
https://www.uchujin-club.org/https://ipbase.go.jp/news/2020/03/news-0319.php　「宇宙人クラブ」＝”Uchujin（Space Alien）Club”

Currently, she is working on creating new business from both her main job and volunteer activities.

As a member of SPACE FOODSPHERE, she is also working on "Space and Food" in this business.
https://spacefoodsphere.jp/

Since the year of 2023, she began research on " Aging Society and Food" and "Space and Aging" at the Graduate School of Project Design as a Project Researcher.

After graduating from the Faculty of Economics at Tokyo University, I joined Goldman Sachs and worked as an equity analyst for 9 years. Later, I transitioned to Boston Consulting Group. The experience of struggling with meal preparation for my child after giving birth became the catalyst for co-founding ShareDine with colleagues in 2017. In May 2018, we launched an on-demand delivery chef service that connects users with specialized chefs tailored to their life stages. Within 5 years of starting the service, ShareDine has grown into Japan's largest on-site chef service with over 4,500 registered chefs. In July 2023, we released 'SpotChef,' a chef-matching service designed specifically for restaurants.

Joined JAXA in 2006, he was in charge of project promotion in the rocket division and space education projects through external collaboration. Later, he was transferred to a major advertising agency, where he participated in corporate promotions and business creation of space content. Thereafter, he was involved in the launch and institutional design of a co-creation program, "JAXA Space Innovation Partnership (J-SPARC)," in addition to promoting the entry of new companies not previously involved in space and planning collaboration with different fields of technology.　
Now, as a J-SPARC producer, he is mainly in charge of co-creation activities with private companies related to space travel, food / living / healthcare, entertainment business, etc.
He serves on the board of directors of SPACE FOODSPHERE, a general incorporated association that works to solve food problems common to the earth and space.

While in school, I participated in SARAH before its founding.
I joined SARAH as a founding member in 2015 and was in charge of web direction, application direction, SEO, marketing, growth hacking, etc. I became COO in 2021.
After that, I was involved in corporate planning work such as M&A, business planning, and finance, and was appointed as CSO (Chief Strategy Officer) in 2022.
Currently, I am launching a new business utilizing blockchain.

Prior to joining SIGMAXYZ, he worked at Panasonic and McKinsey. He specializes in strategy development, new business development and execution, marketing, M&A, partnerships, venture cooperation, etc. He has a deep knowledge of food/culinary trends and players in the food industry, and has appeared in numerous lectures, seminars, panel discussions and media outlets both in Japan and abroad.
Since April 2021, he has been a regular speaker on NHK(Japan Broadcasting Corporation) radio program “マイあさ!”. Also, he is the editor of “The Future of Foodtech” (Nikkei BP Research Institute, December 2018) and author of “Foodtech Revolution: A 700 Trillion Yen New Industry: The Evolution and Redefinition of Food” (Nikkei BP, July 2020).
Director of SPACE FOODSPHERE/ External Director of BASE FOOD / External Director of Cookpad

Michael Wolf is the creator of the Smart Kitchen Summit and publisher of The Spoon. He put SKS together in 2015 because he saw how new disruptive technologies would reinvent the food system over the next decade.