Thomas R. Zengage, Partner
Thomas R. Zengage earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in New York City. After attending an M.A. program in Japanese studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, he obtained an M.B.A. degree from the same institution. Fluent in Japanese, Mr. Zengage has had an extensive career in management consulting, MBO & M&A counsel, corporate governance, and IR and PR strategy in Japan, working on behalf of leading global corporations and financial firms, including Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Daiichi Sankyo, IBM, Kao, Kansai Sawayaka Bank, Nikko Cordial, ORIX, SoftBank, Toyota, WL Ross & Co., Yakult, and others. Thomas R. Zengage was previously CEO and a principal shareholder of IBI Inc., Japan's pioneering investor relations agency. In 2001, Mr. Zengage ledthe process that ultimately resulted in the acquisition of IBI by LSE traded WPP plc, and subsequently as Representative Director managed IBI's integration with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide Japan. Writing in Japanese, Thomas R. Zengage is the author ofthe book Sore demo Yen no Seiki, (Tokyo: Kodansha) and other publications.
Shinichiro Takaya, Partner
Shinichiro Takaya's specific areas of expertise include investment banking, securities research and analysis, and in-depth knowledge of the equity business. Mr. Takaya accumulated nearly two decades of experience in investment research at the securities research arm of Yamaichi Securities, where he was Chief Strategist and General Manager and also at UBS Brinson Investment Management, where he was Research Director, and where he also he participated in the management of Japanese equity portfolios. In addition, Mr. Takaya held the position of General Manager of the Equity Division at Mizuho Investors, one of the leading brokerages in Japan. Mr. Takaya obtained his M.S. degree from the Graduate School of the University of Southern California and his undergraduate degree from Doshisha University in Japan. He is a Chartered Member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan and a Guest Professor at the Graduate School of Finance at Senshu University in Japan.
Takehiko Ikenaga, Partner
Takehiko Ikenaga earned his undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Commerce at Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan.After graduation, he entered the top Japanese brokerage Nikko Securities, where hehad a notably successful career for some thirty years. Mr. Ikenaga was responsible for significant value creation for a number of major portfolio companies, working closely with both portfolio company managementand syndication investors. For example, at Nikko Mr. Ikenaga had a leadership role in the IPOs of NTT DoCoMo, Mitsubishi Estate, and others. He also drove the development and execution of a number of highly innovative financial strategies for Japan's SoftBank, Mitsubishi Corporation,and others. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry has appointed Takehiko Ikenaga as a Special Advisor to the Ministry's University Based Venture Support Program. Mr. Ikenagaalsoserves as a Visiting Professor at Chiba University.
Gerald L. Curtis, Senior Advisor
Gerald L. Curtis, Burgess Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1968, is a specialist on politics in Japan and U.S.-East Asian relations and has been cited by Newsweek as one of the ten leading Asia scholars in the United States. Professor Curtis was Director of the East Asian Institute at Columbia University for twelve years; he has also served an advisor to Newsweek for its Japanese and Korean language editions and as a columnist for the Tokyo Shimbun and Chunichi Shimbun newspapers. Gerald L. Curtis is a member of the International Advisory Board for the Asahi Shimbun, member of the Board of Directors of the U.S.-Japan Foundation and the American Academy of Political Science, and member of the Trilateral Commission and the Advisory Council for the Center for Global Partnership of the Japan Foundation. Professor Curtis won the Masayoshi Ohira Prize in 1989 for the best book on Japanese politics and is the author of Election Campaigning Japanese Style, The Japanese Way of Politics, The United States, Japan, and Asia: Challenges for U.S. Policy (editor and contributor), several other books, and numerous journal articles in English and Japanese.
