Our Team

Naohide Une

Senior Partner / Founder

Naohide Une is a Senior Partner and Co-Founder of Investment Lab. In 2020, driven by a deep desire to contribute his knowledge and experience to address societal challenges, he embarked on a new chapter in his professional career by establishing the company Investment Lab.

At Investment Lab, Naohide runs overall business as CEO and also has been involved in leading projects in circular recycling, HR tech, Fintech, and others in Venture capital business. He also looks over portfolio development and risk management in the Listed Equity Funds business.

Prior to co-founding Investment Lab, from 2015, Naohide joined Japan Post Bank, one of the world’s largest investors with over 200 trillion yen in assets under management. As Managing Director, he layed a key role in the investment strategy reform, contributing to the overall growth of the organization. Since 2018, he held the position of Executive Officer and have been a member of the management committee in the market division of the bank where his responsibilities include actively participating in the bank's overall management and being involved in investment selection for numerous funds globally.

Furthermore, he excelled in various leadership roles, including serving as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and overseeing the launch of Japan's largest private equity fund. In this capacity, he was responsible for formulating business strategies, managing internal operations, and implementing effective risk management practices. He also played a pivotal role in evaluating and executing a wide range of investment opportunities, such as such as buyouts, venture growth, and deep-tech deals across Japan and the Asian region. buyouts, venture growth, and technology projects across Japan and the Asian region. Notably, he had been involved in high-profile initiatives, such as partnering with a major SaaS company specializing in marketing platforms and a real-tech company driving the implementation of power semiconductor technology.

He specialized in Chemical Systems Engineering during his studies at university and graduate school. He achieved notable accomplishments as a fresh graduate at a foreign Investment Bank where they he led a trading team in the Asian region.

He holds a Master's degree in Chemical Systems Engineering from the University of Tokyo, as well as an MBA in finance from Waseda University.

Teruaki Asano

Vice President

Teruaki Asano joined Investment Lab in February 2022 because he resonated with the company’s vision to use financial experts to support businesses that can innovate and help solve social issues.

Before joining Investment Lab, Teruaki was named CFO of a real estate venture company in 2020, where he was involved in the company’s cash management and venture investments.

Beginning in 2005, Teruyuki worked at Goldman Sachs, where he was based in the finance department and was responsible for P/L and B/S monitoring, valuations, and new transaction due diligence for various financial instruments, including derivatives, private equities, real estate, and others.

He holds a B.A. in Economics from Rikkyo University, an MBA from Waseda University Graduate School of Finance. He is a CFA® charterholder and passed US CPA exam.

Hajime Iizuka

Managing Director / CFO

Hajime Iizuka began his career at Yamaichi Securities in 1997, working in the Syndicate Department. , After the company ceased operations, he transitioned to HSBC Securities. In 1999, he joined Goldman Sachs, where he specialized in prime brokerage and underwriting.

In 2005, Hajime played an elaborate role in establishing the Tokyo office of TPG Axon Capital, a U.S.-based global listed equity investment fund, serving as its representative in Japan. In 2014, he co-founded Taizen Capital, a Japan-listed equity investment fund in Singapore, alongside a senior partner from TPG Axon Capital. As a founding partner and COO, he played a pivotal role in orchestrating and launching the business. Hajime brings extensive experience in alternative investment management firms, having overseen and executed a broad spectrum of responsibilities outside of direct investment management.

In 2024, he joined InvestmentLab, inspired by its vision to leverage his expertise and contribute to a better society through investment.

He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo.

Hiroshi Ishiai

Managing Director, Ph.D.

Hiroshi began his career at Astellas Pharma in 2011, where he specialized in process development for small-molecule compounds and regulatory authority interactions. In 2017, he transitioned to DBJ Capital, focusing on investments in the bio and healthcare sectors. Overseeing the full investment lifecycle, he sourced, evaluated, managed, and exited investments while serving as a director for five portfolio companies. Leveraging his pharmaceutical expertise, he provided support in manufacturing, GMP compliance, and regulatory matters, offering comprehensive guidance to portfolio companies.

In 2025, Hiroshi joined InvestmentLab with a vision to empower startups to reach their full potential. Drawing on his extensive expertise, he now focuses on supporting companies across diverse industries, from seed and early stages to later-stage growth, with an emphasis on driving sustainable success through IPOs, M&A, and beyond.

He holds a doctoral degree from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo.

Shu Kajimoto

Vice President

Shu Kajimoto joined Investment Lab in 2020, motivated to leverage the power of investment to build an affluent society. He has been involved in planning and formulating the company’s internal structure from the early stages of its establishment. Since the start of operations, he has been engaged in investment research work across the domains of listed and unlisted companies.

Shu previously worked at Japan Post Bank beginning in 2017, where was engaged in establishing and operating a department for proprietary investments that employed equity-related hedge fund strategies and in planning and formulating the operational structure. After the start of operations, he led the automation and streamlining of operations using programming and other methods. He also has personal experience as a trader and has been involved in the trading business.

He holds a B.A. in Economics from Keio University and an MBA from Waseda University, where he graduated at the top of his class.

Joe (Yosuke) Kimura

Partner / COO

Joe (Yosuke) Kimura is the COO(Chief Operating Officer) and is in charge of Internal Controls & Operations of Investment Lab. His strong passion to create a better society through the power of investments motivated him to join Investment Lab in 2020 as one of its founding members.

Before joining Investment Lab, he co-founded a hedge fund firm in 2018 and established its asset management business in Japan as its Director/COO.

Joe started his career back in 1999 at Nomura Securities as a financial consultant, and won a company-sponsored scholarship to study at US business school. After his MBA, he spent 5 years at Nomura USA (New York) in Japanese Equity Sales and served major US institutional investors & hedge fund clients. In 2010, he moved to the newly-created Prime Brokerage business unit, became the Head of Prime Finance Japan, and gained extensive experience in supporting various hedge fund firms in Japan/Asia.

He graduated from the University of Tsukuba with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies, and completed his MBA from Georgetown University, USA.

Yasuharu Sugimura

Senior Partner / Founder

Yasuharu Sugimura is a Senior Partner and Co-Founder of Investment Lab. His personal experience as a cancer patient motivated him to co-found Investment Lab, with the vision of contributing to the creation of a sustainable and prosperous society where diverse individuals can thrive and play active roles. With over 20 years of experience as a Research Analyst, he has conducted extensive research on small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across various sectors including software, electronic components, semiconductors, transportation, and real estate. His approach involves not only macro, top-down analysis but also multiple angles, achieved through conducting direct interviews with company management, department heads, and on-site staff. This comprehensive method allows him to oversee the entire industry, enabling him to offer investment recommendations to both domestic and international institutional investors. These recommendations include factors such as company positioning, growth potential, competitiveness, and valuation, along with global comparisons.

In addition to analyzing multi-trillion-yen valuation companies, he also focuses on newly-listed IPOs. Through his dedicated efforts, many small companies have significantly increased their corporate values, transitioning from 10 billion-yen to 100 billion-yen market cap entities.

He has also made significant contributions to research on regional revitalization and has facilitated connections between overseas institutional investors and local governments.
At Investment Lab, Yasuharu runs the venture capital business, utilizing his analytical skills and extensive network, which are not confined to listed companies, to identify investment targets and support startups on their growth journey.

He Graduated from University of Keio with BA in Economics.

Chiho Zen

Auditor

Chiho Zen began her legal career in 2013 at a domestic law firm, supporting major financial institutions in Japan. She later joined an international law firm, advising overseas hedge funds and private equity funds on capital-raising activities in Japan.

In 2021, she joined Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, a leading domestic law firm, managing diverse matters such as fund formation, venture fund operations, and financial regulatory compliance. Currently, Chiho applies her expertise in venture legal affairs at a domestic fintech company, contributing to its growth and innovation.

Since 2020, she has served as an auditor at Investment Lab, playing a key role in developing the company’s internal control systems and ensuring strong governance.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Doshisha University, a Master’s degree from Chiba University Graduate School of Law, and a Master’s degree from University College London (MSc).

Mei Tsuji

Vice President

Mei Tsuji joined Investment Lab in 2021 with the desire to more closely observe and learn from the investment scene.

Mei joined Investment Lab from Nomura Securities. After Nomura Securities acquired Lehman’s Japan Business in 2008, she spent nearly 12 years at Nomura servicing electronic trading clients. With her knowledge in listed derivatives, she was in charge of client services for Global Listed Derivatives trading for many years. In 2018, she also expanded her servicing areas to Japanese Equities and has assisted providing algorithmic trading in line with clients’ needs.

She started her career in 2005 at Lehman Brothers Japan after graduating from the Faculty of Law at Keio University. At Lehman, she was responsible for listed derivatives settlement, clearing, and client services in the Operations Department. In an effort to improve operational efficiency, she led system upgrade projects and clearing system implementation projects.

Akane Doi

Vice President

Akane Doi joined Investment Lab in 2021 to support the growth of startup companies and provide a wide range of investors with alternative investment opportunities in Japan, which are still under-served.

Prior to Investment Lab, Akane worked at an independent domestic investment management firm, where she handled alternative strategies, such as private equity and private debt, and institutional investor sales focused on corporate pension funds, beginning in 2017. From 2008, She joined Nikko Cordial Securities (now SMBC Nikko Securities), where she engaged in retail sales to high-net-worth individuals and corporations at the branch-office level. From headquarters, she was engaged in sales support and was responsible for RFPs at the Public Benefit Corporations Department.

She graduated from Waseda University’s Faculty of Social Sciences.