WiT JAPAN & NORTH ASIA

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1st retail investor based corpo- rate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s Advisory Board. In 2022, he was appointed Global Ambassador for Tokyo’s Financial Center initiative. Jesper serves as a member of Board of Governor of OIST, the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology and is a Founder and Board Director of the Asia Society Japan and heads their Policy Committee. He is one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives; and serves on the board of several Japan-based start-ups. He has written three books in Japanese and, in 2021, created the acclaimed video/pod-cast series “Japan – Capitalism that works”.

Jesper is an economist, angel-investor, patron; and yes, a Japan Optimist.

SheueChee (Chee) is a payment specialist with two decades of experience in the industry. Her well-rounded background includes leadership roles across solution providers, payment processors, banks, and merchant, giving her a deep and holistic understanding of the payment ecosystem. Chee has worked at world-class institutions like TSYS, NTTData, JPMorgan, and Uber, earning her a reputation as one of the most impressive payment specialists in the APAC.

Besides her day job, Chee is the Advisory Board member for the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) APAC with a mission to drive positive change and innovation in the payments industry that serves the merchants’ interests. She is also passionate about empowering others to achieve their full potential through mentorship and career coaching by nurturing the next generation of payment professionals, sharing her knowledge and experiences to inspire and guide them on their career journeys.

Complement with core strengths in corporate development, extremely strong business acumen, partnership and relationship management across all continents. Networking includes policy makers, banks, card schemes, payment processors, aggregators, wallets, industry bodies, and merchants.
Strong leadership, interpersonal skills, an excellent communicator with internal/external stakeholders, and cross-functional teams refining complex messages in clear, understandable, and convincing terms as well as being able to tailor messages for varying audiences in a relatable manner lead to partners, customers and company success.

Timothy Hughes is the Vice President Corporate Development of Agoda (Booking Holdings Company). Timothy is a “retired” blogger and pundit. Previously he was the editor and publisher of one of the top online travel industry blogs (the BOOT: the Business Of Online Travel) and a writer at Phocuswire.

Tim is a former lawyer and venture capitalist. As a venture capitalist and consultant he helped a number of start-ups (inside and outside travel) secure funding, set up online media companies, managed investments in public companies and held regular client briefing sessions for a brokerage house. As lawyer he represented technology, new media, Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting clients in Australia, Europe and Hong Kong.

He first joined the online travel industry in 1999 and has worked for top tier online travel companies in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Tim has a Bachelor of Commerce and Hons Law Degree from the Australian National University.

Tejveer Singh Bedi heads the travel partnerships for Tiktok SEA. His team helps travel companies including   Online Travel Agents, Hotels connect with and market to travel communities on Tiktok. He has extensive commercial experience in travel previously heading sales, revenue management and operations in hotel chains. Tejveer served as president HSMAI Singapore is currently a board member of HSMAI commercial advisory board. He is passionate about technology in travel and assists various travel tech startups in their growth journey as an advisor.

Michael is leading the team who manage Expedia Group’s lodging inventory across Asia Pacific. In this role, he works with lodging supply partners to maximize their success and potential on the Expedia Group platform and stay ahead of digital innovation.  He also works with peers across Expedia Group to create great traveller experiences and be an advocate for the APAC region.

Michael joined Expedia Group in 2015 as Representative Director. In his seven-year tenure with the company, he has built a unique B2B knowledge that can benefit all supply partners as they charter the complexities of the travel ecosystem. Prior to joining Expedia Group, Michael worked at Microsoft where his last role was Director of Corporate Accounts.

Michael holds a degree in Applied Mathematics from M.I.T. He was born in Okinawa (Japan) and raised in the U.S. from the age of 7.

Donggun Lee is the founder and CEO of MyRealTrip. Lee launched the service in 2012, while a student at Korea University. In five short years, MyRealTrip became a go-to-marketplace for all things travel among Korean tourists. Currently, it provides over 12,500 tours in 540 cities around the world, and has collected over 160,000 authentic reviews from its customers.

Lee completed degrees in Business Administration and Psychology from Korea University. He also studied at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Koblenz, Germany as a foreign exchange student.

Min Yoon is the CEO and founder of Tidesquare, South Korea’s leading technology-focused travel agency and operator of the #1 premium OTA brand “Privia Travel” as well as Tourvis and Kyte. TIDESQUARE is at the forefront of travel technology development in the region with a strong network of global and local partnerships with industry-leading platform operators across mobile, telecommunications, financial services and more. In addition, Tidesquare has been the co-organizer and partner for WiT Seoul since 2016, fueled with the vision of contributing to the development of the travel landscape and provide an opportunity to share the latest trends and future strategies with global experts.

Prior to Tidesquare, Min Yoon worked for international brands such as Samsung, Korean Air and Hyundai Card. He specialises in hospitality services of operations and marketing, premium marketing, new business development and new media marketing.

– GC Company Co., Ltd (Jan 2022 – Present) Head of Strategy
– KRAFTON Inc. (Nov 2020-Jan 2022) Lead of Global Investment Team
– McKinsey & Company (Sep 2017-Nov2020)
– SK Trading International (Jan 2008-May 2015) Petroleum Product Trader
Education:
– Columbia Business School, MBA (2015-2017)
– Yonsei University, BA, Economics (2000-2004)

Atsushi has 35 years of experience in the technology/consumer industries in a variety of roles, including Accenture, Coca-Cola, Richemont Group, and American Online. During his 12 years at SoftBank, Atsushi worked closely with Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, and held various executive positions within the SoftBank Group. These included the CEO of Bharti SoftBank India, the CEO of MySpace Japan, a board member of InMobi, a board member of SingTel JV, and the CMO of Yahoo! Japan.

With a passion for impact investing and building the startup ecosystem in Singapore, India, and SEA, Atsushi joined Mistletoe Inc. as Chief Growth Officer in 2016 and later became co-founder of Mistletoe Japan. In 2017, he relocated to Singapore to establish Mistletoe Singapore as the global headquarters, serving as Managing Director and working closely with Taizo Son, Mistletoe’s founder. In 2023, Atsushi and Taizo Son co-founded The Edgeof in Singapore and acquired SoftBank Venture Asia to establish the Pan-Asia startup ecosystem to support αStartups (cross-border startups that use out-of-the-box thinking and cutting-edge technology to tackle pressing global issues at their core.)

Matthew Romaine is Founding Partner of Shizen Capital, which manages a series of early-stage, tax-advantaged VC funds investing in Japanese startups.

Prior to establishing Shizen Capital, Matthew was Co-Founder and CEO of Gengo, Inc., a translation and AI training data platform launched from Tokyo, Japan in 2008. Gengo raised over $25M from notable VCs including 500Startups, Atomico, Intel Capital, and Recruit, and served a global network of customers. Gengo was acquired in January 2019 by Lionbridge.

Matthew‘s career began as an audio research scientist at Sony Corporation in Japan, where he advised and published IETF standards for multichannel audio streaming codecs. He received BA degrees from Brown University in Music and Computer Science, and a Masters in Music, Science, and Technology from Stanford University. On nights and weekends when Matthew is not renovating a Japanese kominka, he enjoys time with his wife and two daughters.

Atsushi has 35 years of experience in the technology/consumer industries in a variety of roles, including Accenture, Coca-Cola, Richemont Group, and American Online. During his 12 years at SoftBank, Atsushi worked closely with Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, and held various executive positions within the SoftBank Group. These included the CEO of Bharti SoftBank India, the CEO of MySpace Japan, a board member of InMobi, a board member of SingTel JV, and the CMO of Yahoo! Japan.

With a passion for impact investing and building the startup ecosystem in Singapore, India, and SEA, Atsushi joined Mistletoe Inc. as Chief Growth Officer in 2016 and later became co-founder of Mistletoe Japan. In 2017, he relocated to Singapore to establish Mistletoe Singapore as the global headquarters, serving as Managing Director and working closely with Taizo Son, Mistletoe’s founder. In 2023, Atsushi and Taizo Son co-founded The Edgeof in Singapore and acquired SoftBank Venture Asia to establish the Pan-Asia startup ecosystem to support αStartups (cross-border startups that use out-of-the-box thinking and cutting-edge technology to tackle pressing global issues at their core.)

“Persisting in Doing the Right Thing for the Next Generation”.

The conglomerate includes Aesthetic Forest Parks, Slow Living Style Accommodations, Wedding Estates, Therapeutic-themed Travel Agencies, Forest Lifestyle Selections, and Specialty Restaurants.

Sustainability is the core philosophy of Lavender Forest, starting with the planting of 8,000 trees by hand, practicing land stewardship along the entrepreneurial journey, protecting ecology, nurturing culture, connecting with the local community, and simultaneously achieving carbon balance.

The Hokkaido guesthouse under its umbrella is Taiwan’s first guesthouse established in Japan in corporate form.

– All brands’ top-selling products are internationally certified for carbon neutrality.

– Holds Asia’s first Green Wedding Certificate and comprehensively develops sustainable tourism experiences.

With a profound ecological background, James entered the environmental education and ecotourism industry in 2014, designing various travel experience activities and leading the public to recognize Taiwan’s ecology.

Based on his expertise in ecology and passion for the tourism industry, James joined ECOTOUR TAIWAN, the leading company in sustainable tourism in Taiwan, in 2017, continuing to help the company enhance its image and effectiveness in sustainable. His knowledge and insights into ecotourism enable him to provide a variety of sustainable tourism solutions for travel destinations.

Gina Tsia is the founder and president of “Creative Tourism and Community Design Association in Taiwan” (CTCAT) which focuses on identifying and promoting local cultural activities and events offered by local communities and indigenous tribes to enhance the cultural capital of participants, planners, local communities and to differentiate and diversify tourism supply.

Gina is the founder and the Governor of Dream Travel Taiwan Association (DTTA), a think tank that partners closely with Taiwan Tourism Bureau to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and international best practices, and provide thought leadership and expertise to the tourism industry in digital transformation and destination marketing. She joins MyTaiwanTour, a top-rated local tour agency creating custom designed tours that connect international travelers to Taiwan, as the Head of Legal and Government Affairs in 2020.

Gina worked for Airbnb for 4 years. In her previous role in Airbnb as Head of Public Policy, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Gina developed and executed policy campaign for legitimizing home-sharing and short-term rental in Hong Kong and Taiwan, including lobbying, drafting position papers, building high-impact partnerships with public and private sectors, and worked closely with PR/communication team to develop media communication plan for improving corporate image in in these two markets.

Before Gina joined Airbnb, she had 15 years experience and legal expertise on all matters related to trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets, including trademark and patent applications, licensing, and IP protection enforcement actions in Asia. She was the Associate Director of Legal & Corporate Affairs in Microsoft Taiwan for 10 years and Senior License Compliance Director, Asia, in PTC for 2 years.

She is a PhD Candidate at College of Law at National Cheng-Chi University in Taiwan. Gina holds two BAs in both Law and Foreign Languages & Literature from National Taiwan University. She got her LLM from the College of Law at National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan.

Li-Chin Kuo now is CEO of  Co-create Planning & Design Consultancy which is located in Taitung, Taiwan. She majored in Anthropology and Urban and Rural Planning, and was greatly influenced by the concepts of livable cities and slow food.

In 2013, she moved to Taitung from Taipei and founded an unconventional planning and design consultancy ,mainly promoting Slow Food Movement and providing counseling programs for local industry integration.

She has been focusing on the sustainable issues of Taitung, organizing the Taitung Slow Food Festival, which is super green and non-waste activity. The Festival once won the Gold award of Good Design Award in 2021. Slow Food Travel will be one of the next step of her team. Li-Chin values real-life experience and is dedicated to various innovative and creative practices of local community cooperation based on Taitung’s local customs and knowledge.

David Liu has a strong background in product management, with experience at several well-known companies. David began their career at Tencent as an Associate Product Director, where they worked from 2007 until 2013. David then joined JobsDB as a Senior Product Manager for a brief period. In 2013, they moved to Yahoo, where they served as an Ecommerce Product Manager until 2016. Currently, Liu holds the position of Chief Product Officer at Klook Travel, which they have held since January 2018.

David Liu attended The Chinese University of Hong Kong, but there is no information available regarding the degree obtained or the field of study.

The JTB Group traces its roots back to 1912 when “Japan Tourist Bureau” was formed to attract international travelers to Japan and assist with their travel needs. While our activities and clientele have expanded greatly since then, the JTB Group remains aligned around a core purpose: bringing people, places and possibilities together.

Over an 18-year career at JTB, Eijiro Yamakita was involved in the development of the company’s global strategy and then moved to Europe, where he was appointed to be a top management at the forefront of the company’s global business. Prior to becoming a Managing Executive Officer, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuoni Travel Investment Ltd and the European Head of JTB Group for 3 years. After he returned to Japan, he is the President and CEO of JTB Corp since then.

He entered the Ministry of Transport in 1998 and assumed his current position in 2023.

He is responsible for elaborating various national tourism policies, introduction and improvement of the International Tourist Tax and Tax-free system, and managing tourism-related statistics.

This is his third time assignment at JTA followed by 2009-2011 and 2017-2020.

As a transport ministry official, He has numerous experience in transport policy making process for more than 25 years, including aviation, regional transport, maritime transport as well as tourism.

He holds a B.A. in the Faculty of Law from University of Tokyo, LLMs from NYU Law School.

Kenji Matsuishi started his career in 1993 at Itochu Corporation, one of the biggest trading companies in Japan, where he focused on the import and export of textile and apparel products.
From 1994 to 1996, Itochu sent him to Taiwan and Beijing to experience various ways of doing business, especially in the trade of garments.

Next, from 2000 to 2001, he built a joint venture in China involving 3 countries (Japan, Italy and China), and developed the Chinese apparel market.

Then, he joined the Fukui Prefectural Government Office in 2007, and from 2012 to 2015, was transferred to Shanghai, China, as a representative of the prefecture in the Shanghai office.

His main job was to promote products made in Fukui, as well as tourism to Fukui, in China, Taiwan and the ASEAN region.
From April 2024, he is engaged in promoting tourism to Fukui all over the world as the manager of the prefecture’s International Tourism Promotion Office.

Hiroto Ooka started carrier in Toppan Printing in 1994 to plan and promote the Internet business, which was still extremely new in Japan. He was stationed on the west coast of the United States from 1999 to 2002 and graduated from the University of Rochester MBA in 2004.

After returning to Japan, he contributed to business growth as the head of the management department of the company’s digital content business company. Hiroto moved to Rakuten Group in 2007 and led PMI (Post Merger Integration) of domestic and overseas acquisition companies as C-level officer. He became an Executive Officer of Rakuten Group in 2011. He launched the Rakuten Mobile (MVNO) business in 2014 which became No. 1 market share in 2017. After that, he oversaw the sales and marketing departments as Managing Executive Officer of Rakuten Mobile, Inc.

He joined Agoda, a Booking Holdings company in March 2020. He is currently in charge of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as the Associate Vice President and head of the North Asian region.

His lifework is to improve the life of consumers by utilizing the technology/IoT and to reform existing industries with tech advancements and aiding the digital transformation of Japanese industries

Christine started her career in hospitality in as an Airlines Coordinator while she was writing her thesis for her postgraduate degree in London back in 1990. She currently serves as VP Sales for Asia Pacific for Lighthouse, a leader in data analytics, market insight and business intelligence for hospitality companies. An accomplished commercial leader with over 30 years’ experience, she had worked in leadership positions for companies such as Yanolja Cloud, D-EDGE, TRUST, Pegasus, Utell, and one of Japan’s top hotel chains ANA Hotels (now part of IHG), a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways.

With an excellent track record and knowledge of the cultures and business styles of different marketplaces in APAC, Europe and USA, Christine is passionate about building high performance teams, cultivating solid, business partnerships, and assisting organisations to position themselves in a constantly changing, digital environment.

Christine has a Master of Science degree from University of Strathclyde, a Bachelor of Business degree from Schiller International University in the UK and a Diploma in Hotel Management from Caser Ritz Hotel Colleges in Switzerland.

Yoshiyuki Takano is head of Travel & Mobility Business, Rakuten Group, Inc. since Jan 2017. He started his career at Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. and joined Rakuten in 2002. He worked for Rakuten Ichiba e-commerce business and moved to Rakuten Travel in 2004. Yoshiyuki became a head of the business after managing Advertisement Department and Marketing & Web Design Department. His digital marketing expertise and leadership have been contributing to Rakuten Travel’s rapid business growth in Japan and overseas. Yoshiyuki earned Master’s degree from Waseda University.

Ryuunosuke joined Ikyu Corporation in 2007, currently serves as Director of Lodging Business Division and Director of Sales and Marketing of Ikyu Corporation. Concurrently serving as Product Owner, Travel Management Division, LINE Yahoo! from 2023. Before that he has also served in a number of executive positions.
・Exective officer, Director of Lodging Business Department in 2019～to present
・Exective officer, Director of Restaurant Business Department in 2016-2019

After joining JTB and experiencing corporate sales, Ikeguchi was involved with e-commerce business for many years.

Ikeguchi was mainly engaged in business development and contributed to the launch of Rurubu Travel in 2006.

Since 2019, he was in charge of web business management and digital transformation at the tourism business headquarters for 3 years.

In April 2022, he became the head of the Web Sales Division and executive officer of JTB Corp.

Vice President
Travel Information Division
SaaS Business Management
Sales Division

Fumiko Kato founded WAmazing Inc. and assumed the post of CEO in July 2016 with the goal of helping international travelers to Japan.

The company subsequently released WAmazing – a smartphone app for overseas tourists. Together with a free SIM card (available at major airports in Japan), the app offers ready-to-use internet access and virtual travel agency services. These allow tourists to book hotel rooms and help them pay for activities – indispensable offerings for visitors staying in Japan.

Fumiko graduated from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC), and joined Recruit Co., Ltd. in 1998.

She was mainly involved in project development of new online businesses, including the launch of Jalan Net and Hot Pepper Gourmet, and then transferred to the Jalan Research Center. While working at the research center, she launched “Snow Magic 19” – a project that used big data to analyze tourism trends with the aim of rejuvenating winter sports tourism in Japan, followed up by various “Magic ☆☆☆” applications.

Stanley Kim boasts a strong background in sales and business development, honed through diverse experiences across various companies.

His career began at Fraser Hospitality as a Sales Executive. There, he tackled the challenge of securing stays for Korean embassies, ultimately breaking a record for the most ambassadors choosing their property.

After mastering the art of hotel sales, Stanley transitioned to CBRE as a Senior Associate. This move broadened his horizons and expertise into the world of commercial real estate.

In 2016, Stanley embraced the digital revolution by joining Expedia Korea. He thrived in managing two emerging markets, Jeju and Gangwon, particularly during the excitement of the Winter Olympics in Gangwon.

Stanley‘s talent for forging connections proved instrumental in securing nearly 900 new properties for Expedia within a single year.

Currently, as Director of Sales at Tripbtoz, Stanley is driven by the ambitious mission of creating the first global OTA from Korea. Even amidst the challenges of COVID-19, his leadership secured over 1,000 new properties.

Stanley holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Hospitality and Tourism Management from the Pacific International Hotel Management School in New Zealand, which undoubtedly fueled his passion for the industry.

Wakako “Waka” Tokuda is the President and CEO of Yuko Yuko Holdings, which operates a reservation service leveraging both online and offline channels for Onsen Ryokan across Japan.

After graduating from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, Waka traveled around the world to 52 countries, including Antarctica, in search of her future husband.

Upon her return, she joined Goldman Sachs, worked at an investment firm, and then served as the CEO of CROSS FM, a Fukuoka radio station, where she restructured business operations.

Waka joined Yuko Yuko Holdings amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has been in her current position since June 2021.

Yu Ukai is a Product Manager at Google Travel, responsible for the travel search experience on Google Search and Google Maps, leveraging Google’s AI and other technologies. As the only Product Manager based in Japan, he also holds the responsibility of delivering value to Japanese users and partners.Yu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Keio University and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Tokyo. He began his career as a Product Manager at Microsoft Development Co. Ltd., where he led educational products for Office and Minecraft. After leaving Microsoft, he pursued a Master’s degree in Education at King’s College London. Upon his return to Japan, he joined the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to work on the implementation of compulsory Computer Science education. Prior to joining Google Travel, Yu worked in Google’s Research division, where he focused on promoting and conducting research in education. He has been in his current role since 2022.

Rod is a pioneer of the global online travel industry. He was the founder, CEO & Chairman of Viator, the leading global marketplace for tour and experience products. He was subsequently the CEO & Chairman of Rome2rio, the multi-modal search engine; and is currently a non-executive director of Veltra Corporation, the Tokyo Stock Exchange listed seller of tour and experience products, and Jayride, the Sydney-based global marketplace for airport transfers. He is also a member of the board of directors of Tourism Tasmania.

Junya became the CTO of Asoview in 2012, launching what would become Japan’s leading activity booking service. Since then, as the head of technology, Junya has spearheaded the launch of new ventures such as SaaS for attractions and activity guides, ticketing systems, and a B2B platform, driving Asoview to become a leader in Japan’s tour and activity sector. Before the pandemic, Junya led the alliance business, overseeing collaborations with OTAs and the development of connectivity, steering the company’s inbound strategy at the time. Currently, while continuing his role as CTO, Junya has embarked on new initiatives aimed at Asoview’s global expansion. He received his Bachelor of Computing at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne and MBA from the University of Chicago, possessing a blend of business and technology perspectives with a global background. Junya loves traveling, both within Japan and internationally.

Chee Kong is the COO and Co-Founder of GlobalTix, a reservation and distribution platform dedicated to the tourism industry. At GlobalTix, Chee Kong leads efforts to simplify and enhance ticketing processes for tours, activities, and experiences, empowering partners through their digital transformation journeys. His vision is to ensure that technology elevates every aspect of the tourism sector, making experiences more accessible and enjoyable.

Prior to his role at GlobalTix, Chee Kong amassed extensive experience in the finance sector, where he specialised in investments across diverse asset classes and capital structures. He remains active in the financial sector through his participation in investment committees and directorships in funds and family offices. His broad experience in both financial and operational areas allows him to steer innovation and strategic growth at GlobalTix.

Vincent Deyro serves as the Senior Engineering Manager at Veltra, leading the development and implementation of scalable and reliable cloud-based solutions across the organization. Under his direction, his team ensures the high performance and stability of Veltra’s global travel platform, supporting operations across multiple continents and serving a diverse customer base.

Vincent Deyro graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics Engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology, where he distinguished himself by ranking among the top 7 nationally in the ECE Board Exam. He has further enhanced his expertise through multiple certifications, reflecting a deep commitment to lifelong learning and mastery of advanced technology solutions.

With a strategic focus on innovation and growth, Vincent Deyro leverages deep technical expertise and leadership skills to drive advancements in Veltra’s technology stack and contribute significantly to the travel industry. He is dedicated to exploring new challenges and continuously seeks opportunities to enhance Veltra’s service offerings and operational efficiencies.

Motoe Katsushima graduated from Meiji Gakuin University in 1984, and worked in international companies before first joining the pre-opening office of InterContinental Yokohama Grand. Since then, has held several roles across IHG’s hotels across Japan in varying roles from Operations to HR and Finance, before being posted to ANA Crowne Plaza Toyama in December 2014 as IHG ANA Hotels Group’s first female GM. In 2018 she became Director of Operation’s in IHG’s Tokyo Support Centre, where she was responsible for supporting the improvement of hotel quality and guest services. The, after a short stint at Marriott International, Katsushima returned to IHG in 2022 as Director of Operations – Japan, where she now oversees 15 hotels, and will also take on the additional role as Chief Operating Officer from July 2023.

John Toomey is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) for Marriott International. In this role, John leads the region’s Consumer Strategy comprising of functions such as Brand Management, Marketing, Sales, Distribution, Revenue Management, Loyalty, Customer Experience, Digital and Communications; for a portfolio of more than 565 operating hotels and resorts in 22 countries and territories in APEC, across 23 leading brands including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, JW Marriott, W Hotels, EDITION, Sheraton, Westin, Moxy etc.

John has a strong track record for driving performance and collaboration that yields long- term outcomes. Under his leadership, Marriott entered a partnership with digital giant, Rakuten, tapping on their 110-million-member base to expand the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty platform. He continues to explore partnerships with digital eco-systems as one of the key growth engines for the loyalty program in the region.

Takaya Shinozuka is the founder and CEO of Reiwa Travel, embarking on his second entrepreneurial journey. In April 2021, with the pandemic halting overseas travel, Takaya seized the moment to start the company, raising $20M USD, and introduced NEWT, short for New Travel, a booking app for overseas travel, achieving significant transaction volumes in its second year. Previously, Takaya founded Loco Partners Inc., launching Relux, a luxury hotel booking app that was acquired by KDDI, marking a major milestone in his career.

Originally from New Zealand. After he graduated from Hospitality Standard Institute, he started his career as a hotelier in 2005. He then joined Accor in 2008. He held the positions of Front Desk Manager, Food and Beverage Manager, Operations Manager and Hotel Manager, and in 2013, he became General Manager of the Mercure Queenstown Resort. He came to Japan in 2016 and is based at Mercure Hotel Sapporo, where he serves as an Area Manager in charge of hotels in the Hokkaido and Okinana areas. He was appointed as Accor’s Japan’s representative director in September 2020.

With over 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Christian is a passionate and visionary leader who strives to deliver exceptional service, quality, and value to our guests, owners, and partners. He has a strong background in hotel management, operations, and development, with expertise in the Japanese market. He is currently the Country General Manager at The Ascott Limited, the world’s largest international serviced residence owner-operator, overseeing 22 assets across Japan.

In his current role, Christian had successfully led the integration of Oakwood, into the Ascott portfolio, expanding our presence and offerings in the region. He hasealso been instrumental in driving the growth, performance, and innovation of our properties, while maintaining high standards of customer satisfaction, safety, and compliance. He has leveraged his skills in hospitality, resorts, and banquets to create memorable and distinctive experiences for guests, as well as to generate new revenue streams and optimize operational efficiency. Christian is proud to be part of a dynamic and diverse team that shares a common vision and values of excellence, integrity, and respect.

Marc Letourneau boasts an impressive 25 years with Club Med, and he is currently serving as the General Manager of Club Med Northeast Asia – Japan & South Korea since 2020. Based in Tokyo, Japan, his responsibilities encompass the commercial and marketing strategies of both markets. Notably, Marc spearheaded the project management for the two recently opened Club Med Kiroro Resorts in Hokkaido.

Club Med’s portfolio in Japan now stands at five resorts. This includes four mountain resorts in Hokkaido (namely Club Med Sahoro, Club Med Tomamu, Club Med Kiroro Peak and Club Med Kiroro Grand) and one in Ishigaki (Club Med Kabira), positioning Japan as Club Med’s second-largest destination globally (after France) in terms of clientele and revenue.

Prior to his role in Japan, Marc held leadership and commercial positions across various Club Med offices worldwide, including Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, and Canada. He also serves as Club Med Asia Pacific’s key lead for strategic topics and projects related to mountain destinations.

Born and raised in Bromont, Canada (a winter and water sports haven located 45 minutes away from Montreal), Marc’s life has been deeply entwined with sports. Growing up amidst majestic mountains and shimmering lakes fostered a lifelong love for the outdoors. A certified ski instructor and avid water skier in his youth, Marc’s passion for travel and outdoor activities continues to this day, which is no surprise that his free time often finds him enjoying skiing, water sports, and exploring new destinations.

After graduating from university, he started his career as a hotelier in Malaysia after working for a travel agency. For nearly 40 years, he has held key positions in domestic and international hotels of global hotel chains.

Since 2000, he has been the General Manager of Hyatt Group with more than 20 years of experience. He is the first Japanese General Manager in the Hyatt Group.
He has extensive experience in opening international hotels, and will lead the hotel operations, drawing on his wealth of knowledge and the international perspective he has developed over many years of working overseas.

Mark Rademaker is the Global Head of Hospitality at Adyen. A global strategic business leader with expertise in reducing friction in travel and hospitality payments, Mark helps drive creative solutions using payments innovation and technology. His strong background in developed and emerging markets, and understanding of the premium and luxury hospitality landscape, helps put him in the perfect position to offer tech-focused payments solutions to an increasingly digital-based and forward-thinking hospitality brands worldwide.

Ota Munekatsu is the executive officer of Rakuten Group, Inc., the Representative Director & CEO of Rakuten STAY, Inc. and CEO & Director of Rakuten Travel Xchange Pte. Ltd. He joined Rakuten Group in 2005 and worked as an executive officer of Rakuten Travel, general manager of Rakuten Travel international business and product manager for Chinese subsidiaries. His deep knowledge of travel market and multi-faceted operation experiences made him an inspirational decisive business leader of Rakuten STAY and Rakuten Travel Xchange. Ota is currently based in the global financial hub of Singapore, leading both businesses to achieve their next growth of global distribution in travel industry and providing the Japanese luxury style vacation rental to global travelers.

Shinichi Tatebayashi is the founder and CEO of SQUEEZE Inc.

He founded SQUEEZE in 2014 and currently operates 26 smart and life style hotels across Japan, including “Minn”, “Theatel”, “Kario” and a recently opened stadium hotel “tower eleven hotel” in ESCON FIELD Hokkaido etc.

The company also provides hotels operators with the operation management system “suitebook,” which SQUEEZE developed based on its own hotel management experience.

“suitebook” functions as an operation platform by crowd-sourcing staff, task automation, API integration with IoT devises, etc. The software is currently used by a number of accommodations.Shinichi began his career as an analyst at Goldman Sachs Singapore, after which he moved on to work at TripAdvisor Singapore.

Through his experience and leadership he and his team are working to become a worldwide leader in the field of hospitality tech.

Howard is co-founder & ceo of Section L, an apartment-hotel management company with 9 properties across Tokyo and many more in the pipeline.  Section L’s vision is to build and manage hotels without strangers, where guests can easily connect with and enhance each other’s journeys through intuitive, in-house social networking app and a community-centric service team.  Prior to Section L, Howard worked for Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts as an asset manager as well as a founding team member of the JEN by Shangri-La brand, with over 5,000 rooms across Asia Pacific.  His other experiences include guest service with Four Seasons Hotels, hotel development advisory with Horwath HTL, and founding a short-term rentals platform in Japan.

Howard is originally from Taipei, Taiwan and is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Yosuke Irie is the founder and CEO of Wonder-Powered You Company.

He founded Wonder-Powered You (Former Emblem Hotel) in 2015 and currently operates hotels in Hakone and Shinjuku. Wonder-Powered You is about drawing out the potential power of individuals and creating new culture.

Prior to Wonder-Powered You, he was with Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels and Hospitality Group, involved in strategic advisory, investment sales, and feasibility studies for listed hotel companies. He was also with Deloitte Financial Advisory and Mitsui Fudosan in corporate sales and asset management.

He graduated from Keio University (Law), and the Cornell School of Hotel Administration (Masters in Hotel Management).

Rod is a pioneer of the global online travel industry. He was the founder, CEO & Chairman of Viator, the leading global marketplace for tour and experience products. He was subsequently the CEO & Chairman of Rome2rio, the multi-modal search engine; and is currently a non-executive director of Veltra Corporation, the Tokyo Stock Exchange listed seller of tour and experience products, and Jayride, the Sydney-based global marketplace for airport transfers. He is also a member of the board of directors of Tourism Tasmania.

Timothy Hughes is the Vice President Corporate Development of Agoda (Booking Holdings Company). Timothy is a “retired” blogger and pundit. Previously he was the editor and publisher of one of the top online travel industry blogs (the BOOT: the Business Of Online Travel) and a writer at Phocuswire.

Tim is a former lawyer and venture capitalist. As a venture capitalist and consultant he helped a number of start-ups (inside and outside travel) secure funding, set up online media companies, managed investments in public companies and held regular client briefing sessions for a brokerage house. As lawyer he represented technology, new media, Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting clients in Australia, Europe and Hong Kong.

He first joined the online travel industry in 1999 and has worked for top tier online travel companies in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Tim has a Bachelor of Commerce and Hons Law Degree from the Australian National University.

Peach started its operation as Japan’s 1st LCC (Low Cost Carrier) in 2012 to make air travel more affordable, to share happiness with customers, and to bridge Asia.

Peach is aiming to go beyond airlines, and to actively offer unique services and promotions, as well as strengthening its efforts with each partner with the aim of regional development.

Naoko Cooper joined Peach as a marketing manager in 2013, and moved to Corporate Planning in 2015 where she is involved in developing the overall management strategies, as well as realizing the company philosophy. Prior to joining Peach, she took a role as a marketer in the IT start-up, e-commerce, and pet food industry.

Victor Osumi is Managing Director and President – Japan for Delta Airlines. Victor is responsible for managing Delta’s entity in Japan and developing the business strategy to build Delta’s presence as an industry leader in the Japan market.

Victor joined Delta in July 2019 from Marriott International, where he served as Area Vice President, Japan and Guam, responsible for the operations of 43 Marriott-branded hotels and over 30 new hotels under development.

Victor graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a BS in Aviation Management Flight Technology and then joined the United States Ari Force.

Throughout his career, he has assumed leadership roles with major global hotel companies, including Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group (IG), Marriott International, and Prince Hotels. Victor holds an FAA Certified Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor’s license (CFII).

Ken has been an online travel veteran through his various tenures as a regional or local management at Expedia, HRS, and JTB. His passion for innovation & contribution to the market has extended and gone beyond travel, and he has been leading Rokt Japan business for helping online business owners to unlock their revenue potentials through relevance as head of Japan. Prior to Rokt, Ken served various global tech companies including Google, HRS, Expedia, and eBay while supporting digital transformation at a local company, JTB. His passion has also been with innovations and also servicing as a mentor and advisor to various startups.

Started her career in the hospitality industry in Los Angeles and later returned to Japan, she has engaged in marketing at Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel. Left the hotel industry once, joined Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, PricewaterhouseCoopers BPO and Chuo Aoyama Audit Corporation as an accounting auditor and business process consultant.

Established Agora Hospitalities after leaving corporate career in 2007. Founded the company with a vision to establish, under “A Collection of Beautiful Japan”, a portfolio of boutique hotels and traditional ryokans representing the soul of Japan. Under her tenure (2007-2017), the collection comprised 13 properties.

She founded her second hotel management company, SAVVY Collective, Inc. (2017- ), to provide hospitality business solutions with a Luxury & Lifestyle concepts.

Prior to AGORA, she was a Senior Vice President of Business Development for ISHIN Hotels Group (2003-2007) and an Executive Director of Operations at Space Design Inc. developed and operated 14 serviced apartments in Tokyo.

Graduated from the University of Southern California (USA) with a Bachelor of Music from Thornton School of Music, Piano Performance. She also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from University of Wales (UK).