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OUR TEAM Professionals Mr. Yukuo Takenaka, CPA, President and CEO (Los Angeles & Tokyo) Mr. Takenaka is recognized for his expertise in cross-border M&A and joint venture transactions. On both sides of the Pacific, he serves as a senior advisor to companies in a wide range of industries including information technology, electronics, manufacturing, financial services and real estate. He is the author of the Japanese best seller, Merger and Acquisition Strategy. Prior to forming The Takenaka Partners Group in 1989, he was a senior partner and National Director of KPMG Peat Marwick's Japanese practice. He also served as Chairman of Project Japan for the parent company, KPMG. Mr. Takenaka was born in Japan and is fluent in both Japanese and English. Mr. Takenaka received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Utah. Mr. Takenaka is a Certified Public Accountant.
Ms. Yoshiko Nakaoki, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Los Angeles) Ms. Nakaoki has significant experience in handling complex finance and accounting issues relating to American and Japanese companies. Her extensive knowledge on how to establish and sustain foreign businesses in the United States, particularly Asian companies, has proven to be invaluable. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Nakaoki was an Assistant Controller for a Fortune 500 company that distributed electronic components and computer products. Ms. Nakaoki began her career at the public accounting firm of Lybrand Ross Bros Montgomery as an auditor after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Utah.
Mr. Kyoowon Lee, Executive Vice President and Chief Representative in Korea (Seoul) Mr. Lee worked for Hanwha Chemical Corporation, the largest chemical company in Korea, for 30 years where he served as Executive Vice President. He is very knowledgeable and has experience in both the petro-chemical business and corporate planning including investments, restructuring, reorganization and mergers & acquisitions. Mr. Lee managed a $300 million capital investment in expanding manufacturing facilities of Hanwha Chemical, and has lead several M&A transactions. He was also involved in a series of restructuring & reorganization projects of Hanwha group companies. Mr. Lee also worked for CHA Hospital Group and CHA Biotech as of the Executive Vice President of Strategic Management. Mr. Lee graduated from Yonsei University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and completed studies in advanced business administration course at Korea University and Seogang University in Korea.
Mr. Yoshinobu Fukushima, Executive Vice President (Los Angeles & Tokyo) Mr. Fukushima has extensive experience providing technical advisory services in the field of finance, which includes banking, corporate finance, project finance, real estate and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Takenaka Partners, Mr. Fukushima was engaged in transaction support and financial advisory services in the fields of distressed markets, business recovery and risk management with KPMG in Tokyo and Los Angeles. Prior to KPMG, Mr. Fukushima was a member of the Senior Management Team at Nippon Credit Bank. He has over 20 years of banking experience in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and the U.S. His expertise includes credit and financial analysis, real estate financing, appraisal, project financing, structured financing, M&A, negotiation and documentation. Mr. Fukushima received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Hitotsubashi University in Japan, and his MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Nobuhiko Suzuki, Executive Vice President (Tokyo) Mr. Suzuki joined Takenaka Partners as Senior Vice President in April 2004. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Suzuki was a member of the Senior Advisory Board of Takenaka Partners for many years. He has significant finance and accounting experience, and has served in various managerial positions within the Hitachi Group, including General Manager, Overseas Department of Hitachi HQ and CFO of the overseas affiliated companies. Mr. Suzuki was instrumental in leading the globalization strategy for the Hitachi Group of companies. After leaving Hitachi in 1994, Mr. Suzuki was appointed to Executive Managing Director for sales and marketing for Hitachi Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd, a Hitachi affiliated company. In this role, Mr. Suzuki succeeded in leading Hitachi Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd to be the foremost LSDs manufacturing equipment supplier in the world. Mr. Suzuki received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Seijyo University in Tokyo. Mr. Toshiaki Amimoto, Senior Vice President (Los Angeles) Mr. Amimoto started his career with Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan and has been involved in its overseas marketing and planning for over 10 years. Prior to joining Takenaka Partners he worked for the Nippon Credit Bank Ltd. and was responsible for the international banking and capital markets areas in London and Tokyo. He also worked as a Director in the Financial Advisory Service practice of KPMG LLP and focused on mergers and acquisitions, and valuation of companies. Mr. Amimoto received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Waseda University in Japan and his MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA. Ms. Kristine Fujita, CPA, CFA, Senior Vice President (Los Angeles) Ms. Fujita has been with Takenaka Partners since 1998 and has been extensively involved in managing all aspects of our firm’s Investment Banking transactions, including cross-border buy-side and sell-side M&A, strategic joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and restructurings, corporate valuation, and global strategy consulting. Since joining Takenaka Partners, Ms. Fujita has successfully executed strategic transactions on behalf of clients involved in a diverse array of industries including automotive supply, consumer products, consumer electronics, food and beverage, industrial manufacturing, real estate, semiconductors, software and high-technology, and telecommunications. Prior to Takenaka Partners, Ms. Fujita was a Senior Consultant with Deloitte’s Capital Markets Group and Business Assurance & Advisory Division, servicing large multinational corporations. Prior to joining Deloitte, Ms. Fujita was nominated by the University of Southern California to be its sole representative in a nationwide candidate selection process whereby she was selected to be one of four Postgraduate Technical Assistants to work for the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in Norwalk, Connecticut. Ms. Fujita earned her B.S. and Master's degrees in Accounting from the University of Southern California. She graduated cum laude and received various scholarship awards including the prestigious Mary Pickford Scholarship Award. Ms. Fujita is also a Certified Public Accountant, has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the CFA Institute (formerly known as the Association of Investment Management and Research).
Mr. Mitsuo Kubota, Senior Vice President (Tokyo) Mr. Kubota joined Takenaka Partners in April 2004. Prior to joining Takenaka Partners, Mr. Kubota was deeply involved in Hitachi’s international business activities, particularly with respect to sales and marketing for IT related products and systems, automotive parts, air-conditioning equipment, steel mill plants, hydro power plants, and thermal power plants, among other products. His international business experience with Hitachi and its affiliated companies spanned over 40 years. Mr. Kubota also has extensive experience in corporate management both in Japan and in Europe. He has enjoyed a remarkable career as Chairman and CEO of Hitachi Data Systems Europe Holding B. V., a joint venture between Hitachi and EDS, USA. As Chairman and CEO, Mr. Kubota steered Hitachi Data Systems to achieve record sales and market share for its computer products in Europe. In addition, Mr. Kubota was instrumental in building strong relationships with both customers and employees. Mr. Kubota received his bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Meiji University.
Mr. Toru T. Takagi, Ph.D, Senior Vice President, Technology & Engineering (Tokyo) Dr. Takagi is concurrently the President of KnowledgeWay Ltd., a technical and engineering consulting company to provide services for technological knowledge transfer from Japanese industries to industries in emerging countries. He is also providing consulting services to Japanese nuclear power plants for its maintenance planning and innovative operations. Over 15 years with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Dr. Takagi worked on marketing, planning and implementing large and multinational engineering projects such as aerospace vehicle development, multimedia system development, etc. In his previous career with INCS Inc., an engineering process solution provider, he was engaged in consulting regarding business strategy development, technical and engineering assessment, and business process assessment/ innovation for a variety of industrial clients, including automotive parts, electronics, medical equipment, plant maintenance, shipyard operations and aerospace maintenance, etc. After graduating from The University of Tokyo, Nuclear Engineering, Dr. Takagi received his Masters and Ph.D of Engineering from The University of Tokyo, Nuclear Engineering. He also studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a visiting scholar.
Mr. Joseph Kim, Vice President (Los Angeles) Mr. Kim has extensive experience in investment banking, financial advisory, and strategic planning. Mr. Kim’s prior experience includes serving as a Director at Marshall & Stevens and as an Associate at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (HLHZ). As a Director at Marshall & Stevens, Mr. Kim managed valuation and consulting engagements for merger & acquisition, fairness opinions, and SEC related purposes. Prior to Marshall & Stevens, during his tenure at HLHZ, Mr. Kim co-founded the Communications, Entertainment & Media group where he supported a variety of corporate finance, mergers & acquisition, and restructuring engagements within those industries. Mr. Kim was also a Director of Corporate Development at PeopleLink, an Internet infrastructure company. At PeopleLink, Mr. Kim was responsible for business development, strategic planning, technology licensing, and strategic partnership initiatives. Mr. Kim received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Kyung Jun Kim, Vice President (Los Angeles) Mr. Kim was formerly the President of Cheungku Marine Industrial Co., Ltd. He has extensive experience in market research and business development in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Singapore, the United States, the Middle East in the global marine, offshore, and heavy industrial industries as well as real estate investment. He has held senior management positions with Cheungku Steel Industries Co., Ltd., Cheungku Machine-Tech Co., Ltd., Cheungku Engineering Co., Ltd., Cheungku Shipyard Co., and Hyundai Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. Mr. Kim received his bachelor’s degree in Engineering and his Master’s Degree in Science from the University of Ulsan in Korea.
Mr. Ippei Suzuki, Vice President (Los Angeles) Technology Group Mr. Suzuki has nearly 20 years of experience in the IT industry, devoting his career in cross border business development in the international high tech market. His recent 7 years has been in the IT Security market, serving as a business and technology specialist for many US and Japan based companies. Prior to joining Takenaka Partners, Mr. Suzuki held executive positions in various US based IT Security companies both public and private, managing Business Development and Sales operations. In his beginning of his career, he worked in Japan, joining a major Japanese electronics manufacturer. As an international business specialist, he successfully established numerous business deals between Japanese and US companies in both directions, and being fluent in both languages, he helped domestic oriented companies transition into a global operation by spearheading its international market expansion. The most recent is a 7 figure OEM contract between a US security software company and a major Japanese PC manufacturer. Also he represented a leading Japanese wireless communication carrier as their director to perform a technical due diligence to successfully close a $100M investment towards a strategic joint venture. From a technical aspect, Mr. Suzuki is a specialist in a wide array of network security technology, including advanced technology such as encryption, smart cards and biometrics. Mr. Suzuki received a bachelor degree from School of Science and Engineering at Waseda University.
Ms. Jennifer Whelan, CFA, Senior Associate (Los Angeles) Jennifer Whelan is an expert in establishing first-time ventures between U.S. and Asian businesses. A former small business owner herself, she is well experienced with the practical day-to-day intricacies of international operations. Ms. Whelan handled numerous business valuation cases as an analyst for Sanli Pastore & Hill prior to joining Takenaka Partners. She is the former regional marketing manager of Armstrong World Industries Inc., China Division, and was previously a trusted financial consultant at Standard Chartered Bank, Hong Kong. Ms. Whelan has an MBA in Finance from The California State University, Fullerton, and a B.A. in Law from Shenzhen University, China. She is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.
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