The IJCC is delighted to welcome three very special guests to this panel discussion.

Mr. Akira Ogushi, Mr. Kazunari Miyazaki, and Mr. Christos Makiyama have decades of knowledge in leading the international expansion efforts of their companies. They will share their experiences of developing successful business partnerships between Japanese and international organisations. 

A not to be missed event, covering topics such as M&A, business development, finding the right partner, startups, management style differences, key challenges and many more.

An ideal event for any company looking to expand into Japan, for any Japanese company looking to grow overseas or for anyone with an interest in international business development.

Event Format
A fireside chat led by chamber member Niall Keegan, a Tokyo-based expert in international business development. Niall will be posing the questions to our guests. Followed by a Q&A session with our audience where you can ask your questions to our panel.

Date: Thursday 26th August
Time: 7.30pm JST

Registration
Please apply below. 
https://forms.gle/bwazuEG2Zuv63VzE8
The zoom link will be sent to you via email once the registration is submitted.

Speakers

Akira Ogushi

Title: Chairman, Blue Rise Partners Ltd

Background :

Akira Ogushi worked for many decades in the automotive business. He spent most of his time in Europe, serving as President of Nissan in France and focused for several years on developing the alliance between Nissan and Renault. 

Besides his mother tongue of Japanese, Akira is also fluent in French, Italian and English.  

After his time in the automotive manufacturing business, Akira worked with Japanese suppliers of modems for M2M applications, heat pump water heaters and refrigeration equipment, heading up overseas sales and business development efforts.

Today Akira continues to be an enthusiastic developer of new business in Japan working with overseas suppliers of 5G and Augmented Reality products for remote field maintenance.

Kazunari Miyazaki 

Title: Senior Expert, NEC Safety Solution Management Headquarters.

Background:

Miyazaki-san has 10+ years of experience in M&A, venture investment, accounting, and finance.  He has worked closely with venture-backed companies to clearly identify market needs and conceptualize and articulate their strategies. 

In recent years Miyazaki-san and his team have made a total investment of over $4B in the acquisition of three European companies in the areas of public safety, digital government and digital finance.

2018: NPS (UK), a leading software and services provider to the public sector in the UK and Australia 

2019: KMD (Denmark), the largest Danish-based IT company developing and delivering software and service solutions for local government, central government and the private sector  

2020: Avaloq (Switzerland), a Swiss-based global leader in digital banking solutions and wealth management technology. 

Miyazaki-san has formally qualified as a Registered Management Consultant (RMC), a Certified Public Accountant in the United States (USCPA), and a US Certified Management Accountant (USCMA).

Christos Makiyama

Title:  Silicon Planet Corporation, President and Founder

Partner, Co-Founder & Director in multiple technology start-ups

Background:

Christos is an entrepreneur and angel investor, born in Japan and raised in Greece and Cyprus, with 25 years of experience supporting technology companies to identify market opportunities and develop viable businesses around innovative ideas.

In February 2001, Christos founded Silicon Planet, a venture development firm. During the last 20 years, he supported various Japanese corporations such as NTT, Oki Electric, Paltek, ImageOne, and others with their new venture initiatives. He also helped many overseas technology startups in networking and communication, semiconductors, video communications, computer vision, IoT, and AI with their business development and Japan entry strategy.

In 2004, Christos joined the executive team of Helic, an innovative startup in Electronic Design Automation, and until 2019 helped to close many high-value business deals with companies in semiconductors design such as SONY, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Panasonic, SHARP, AKM, Samsung, Denso and secure a strategic investment from Fujitsu and Magma Design. Ansys, the world market leader in engineering simulation solutions, acquired Helic in February 2019. 

Christos has also been an angel investor and Director of the Board of Think Silicon, a startup in ultra-low power GPU and Display controller design. Applied Materials, the world leader in semiconductor and display engineering solutions, acquired Think Silicon in April 2020.

Currently, he is Chief Innovation Officer and angel investor in Fieldscale, co-founder in Loctio, and advisor in various technology startups, primarily from Greece.

He is a Board member of the Greek Chamber of Commerce in Japan and a mentor with Reload Greece, a UK-based non-profit organization aiming to educate and support young entrepreneurs.

Niall Keegan

Title:  President, KeyCom Associates Ltd

Background: 

Niall has spent over 30 years in Japan, initially working as an engineer at a Japanese multinational company developing audio/video equipment.  Niall then moved into the semiconductor import and distribution business selling to and providing technical support to major manufacturers of telecoms and industrial equipment in Japan.  

After 10 years in the semiconductor business, it became clear to Niall that companies entering markets in Asia needed assistance in many areas which were beyond the scope of a traditional distribution company.  Since the early 2000s, Niall has been focused on helping to address a myriad of challenges faced by clients doing business in Asian markets and working closely with them to develop the appropriate solutions.

For more information see: https://www.key-com.biz