Leadership
Masaki Takahata
Representative Director, President and CEO
Born in April 1984. After graduating from The University of Tokyo with a degree in Economics in 2007, he began his career at AZSA & Co. (currently KPMG AZSA LLC). Following his tenure at Frontier Management Inc., he joined SMS Co., Ltd. in 2013. He subsequently served as CFO of the MIMS Group before being appointed its CEO in 2021, where he led the SMS Group’s overseas operations. He was appointed as a Director of SMS Co., Ltd. in 2025 and has served in his current role as Representative Director, President and CEO since January 2026.
Nobuko Takagi
Outside Director, Audit ＆ Supervisory Committee Member
As the founder and CEO of COEING AND COMPANY Co., Ltd., she provides strategic consulting services focused on new business development and corporate governance. She previously specialized in domestic and cross-border M&A within the Corporate Planning Division of NEC Corporation and at GCA Savvian Corporation (currently Houlihan Lokey). A Japanese Certified Public Accountant (CPA), she has served as an Outside Director and Audit and Supervisory Committee Member of the Company since June 2022.
Tetsuro Harada
Outside Director, Audit ＆ Supervisory Committee Member
After engaging in investment and financing operations at Nippon Life Insurance Company, he earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and joined Dream Incubator Inc. in 2000. He engaged in strategy consulting for large corporations and in the investment in and development of venture companies, and served at the core of the company's management as an Executive Officer from 2006 and as a Director from 2018. In 2020, he was appointed as Representative Director and CEO, where he drove the renewal of the company's mission, vision, and values; the restructuring of the Board's composition and its shift to a monitoring model; and the rebuilding of the business portfolio together with shareholder returns. From 2023, as Chairman of the Board, he put into practice the separation of management execution from the Board's supervisory function and ensured its effectiveness, before stepping down as Chairman of the Board (Audit and Supervisory Committee Member) of Dream Incubator Inc. in June 2026. During his tenure as an Outside Director of Mandom Corporation, he served as a Member of the Special Committee concerning its MBO, and he also serves as an Outside Director of Wacoal Holdings Corp. (current position). He possesses knowledge as a corporate executive and Chairman of the Board of a listed company, as well as extensive experience as an outside officer. He has served as an Outside Director and Audit and Supervisory Committee Member of the Company since June 2026.
Aiko Ota
Outside Director, Audit ＆ Supervisory Committee Member
After being admitted to the bar in 2015, she handled labor and litigation matters for foreign-affiliated companies at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (currently Freshfields), a major UK-based law firm, before joining Nozomi Sogo Attorneys at Law in 2017. Her corporate legal practice centers on supporting the development of governance frameworks such as compliance and internal controls, overseas legal affairs primarily in Southeast Asia, and labor and litigation matters. In 2019, she studied in the Master of Laws (LL.M.) program at the National University of Singapore (NUS) as a student recommended by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, and through a secondment to Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, which has offices across ASEAN countries, she provided wide-ranging support for Japanese companies' expansion into Southeast Asia, compliance with local laws, and international dispute resolution. After returning to Japan, she has continued to handle corporate legal affairs related to Singapore and Southeast Asia as well as compliance and governance, and was appointed as a Partner at the firm in September 2025 (current position). She possesses expertise in international corporate law. She has served as an Outside Director and Audit and Supervisory Committee Member of the Company since June 2026.
Makoto Yasuda
Outside Director
He began his career at SoftBank Corp. (currently SoftBank Group Corp.) in 1998. Following his tenure at FreeBit Co., Ltd., he joined BrainPad Inc.—a data analytics company centered on statistical analysis and machine learning—as a founding member in 2004. There, he led the business development of its data analytics services and oversaw its SaaS product divisions, including its recommendation engine and automated ad-bidding solutions, contributing to the company's public listing. Appointed as a Director in 2011, he drove the expansion of the business for approximately a decade thereafter. In 2021, he founded Seedim Inc. and was appointed as its Representative Director (current position), and since 2022 he has been engaged in supporting the growth of next-generation SaaS companies at Nealle Inc. (current position). Having worked at the forefront of the data utilization and machine learning industries since their nascent stages, he possesses deep insight into market development, product strategy, organizational building, and monetization in the data and AI business. He has served as an Outside Director of the Company since June 2026.
Takeshi Kawasaki
Outside Director
He joined Citibank, N.A. Japan Branch (currently Citibank, N.A. Tokyo Branch) in 2002. Following his time at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. (currently SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.), he engaged in corporate finance and private equity investment operations at the Regional Economy Vitalization Corporation of Japan (REVIC) from 2014. In 2020, he joined LIFENET INSURANCE COMPANY as Head of Corporate Planning, where he was responsible for formulating company-wide strategy. From 2022, as an Executive Officer, he oversaw the corporate planning, accounting and actuarial departments, including IR, and led dialogue with institutional investors and analysts, driving the formulation and disclosure of the medium-term management plan and the voluntary adoption of IFRS. Since June 2025, as Director, Executive Vice President CFO, he has overseen all areas of management strategy, finance, and IR, and in July of the same year led the company's move from the TSE Growth Market to the Prime Market (current position). He possesses deep knowledge of the capital markets based on cross-sector practical experience spanning banking, securities, government-affiliated funds, and insurance, as well as hands-on expertise as the CFO of a listed company. He has served as an Outside Director of the Company since June 2026.
Toyotaro Suzumura
Technical Advisor
A computer scientist, he is currently a Professor at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology at The University of Tokyo. He began his career at IBM Research - Tokyo in 2004, followed by an assignment in Europe from 2013 to 2015. Starting in 2015, he led global teams at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in New York and the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. He assumed his current professorship at The University of Tokyo in 2021. His work spans the research and development of large language models and AI agents, graph foundation models, and robot foundation models—from their fundamentals—as well as their social implementation in areas such as recommendation systems and matching. He leads the design and build of AI model inference services, including mdx-MaaS, and large-scale GPU systems for AI. He served as an Outside Director and Audit and Supervisory Committee Member of the Company from June 2020 to May 2026, and has served as a Technical Advisor since June 2026.
Ken Yamamoto
Head, Medical Care and Welfare Career Business Promotion Division / Medical Care Career Business Division
After graduating from the School of Science and Engineering at Waseda University in 2000, he joined a consulting firm specializing in BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) for R&D departments in the automotive industry. He joined SMS Co., Ltd. in 2012, after serving as General Manager at a wedding venue operator where he led business promotion. He has since spearheaded business planning and organizational growth within the HR matching domain. Simultaneously, he held key leadership roles in human resources—including recruitment, talent allocation, and the management of evaluation and compensation systems—driving organizational development from multiple perspectives. In 2019, he became a business manager for the nursing field, followed by his appointment as Head of the Medical Care Career Business in 2020. Since 2026, he has concurrently served as Head of the Business Promotion Division for the entire Career Segment. He also contributes to the industry as a Director of the Japan Executive Search and Recruitment Association and as the Representative Secretary of the Medical, Elderly Care, and Childcare Recruitment Council.
Yuichiro Shiozaki
Head, Welfare Career Business Division
After graduating from Kobe University with a degree in Engineering in 2005, he began his career in sales management and strategy, overseeing multiple store locations. He subsequently worked at a creative agency, where he produced product planning and promotional development projects for corporate clients. Joining SMS Co., Ltd. in 2008, he oversaw cross-platform web media management and led marketing and product design within the Media Planning Department. Following his role as a business manager of the certification support service in 2013, he was appointed as General Manager of the Elderly Care Career Business in 2015. After leading numerous strategic initiatives, including new business launches and M&A, he has served as Head of the Career Business for Elderly Care, Childcare, and Disability Welfare since 2022.
Issei Sonoda
Head, Elderly Care Management Support Business Division
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Well-being Support Business Division
Chief, Business Development Office
After graduating from The University of Tokyo with a degree in Law in 2009, he built an extensive background in business management and new business development at an IT startup and within the M3 Group. He joined SMS Co., Ltd. in 2017, where he oversaw overseas operations and post-merger integration (PMI). After a period of pursuing his own entrepreneurial ventures, he rejoined SMS in 2020. In 2022, he was appointed as Head of the Elderly Care and Disability Welfare Management Support Business. In 2024, he spearheaded the establishment of SMS Welfare Technology Co., Ltd. to lead the vertical launch of its SaaS platform for the disability welfare field, serving as its Representative Director. Since April 2025, he has concurrently served as Head of the Healthcare Business (currently Well-being Support Business) and Chief of the Business Development Office. He also contributes to the industry as a Director of the Japan Day Service Association.
Tatsuya Yano
Head, Senior Life Support Business Division
After graduating with a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University in 2003, he began his career at a major chemical manufacturer. He joined SMS Co., Ltd. in 2005, where he managed marketing for various business units, including educational and human resources services. In addition to leading diverse functions such as advertising operations and editorial management, he spearheaded the establishment of a company-wide marketing organization. Following these roles, he led the launch of the Senior Life Support Business Division and has served as its Head since 2015. Thereafter, he has driven multifaceted business expansion into areas related to housing and end-of-life planning, alongside the development of multiple new businesses.
Sunao Tanabe
Head, Product Promotion Division
Beginning his career as an engineer in 2001, he gained extensive experience at an AIG Group life insurance company, where he contributed to a major system integration project for three insurers, the development of a mobile service with 2 billion monthly PVs, and the launch of an e-commerce joint venture. In 2011, he joined DeNA Co., Ltd., where he established the development infrastructure team, drove development efficiency through CI (Continuous Integration) implementation, and launched a genetic testing service. Joining SMS Co., Ltd. in 2015 as Engineering Lead, he spearheaded the shift to in-house development, product modernization, and organizational growth. After serving as Chief of the Technology Promotion Office and General Manager of the Product Development Department, he currently leads the company’s product development as Head of the Product Promotion Division.
Toshio Sugaya
CFO
After graduating from The University of Tokyo with a degree in Economics in 2001, he began his career at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd., where he advised on M&A and financing transactions. Upon earning a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Boston College Law School in 2007, he practiced corporate law at the U.S. law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (currently Paul Hastings LLP) in its Los Angeles office. Following his tenure at Lazard Frères K.K., he joined Barclays Securities Japan Limited in 2010, where he led large-scale cross-border M&A and capital-raising transactions. In 2019, he joined SmartDrive Inc. as CSO and COO, developing corporate strategy, overseeing the sales organization, and establishing the company's overseas operations — work that contributed to its IPO. From 2023, he served as Director and CFO of QunaSys Inc., where he led major funding rounds and development of internal frameworks in preparation for a public listing. In August 2026, he was appointed as CFO of the Company (current position).
Sohil Goswami
Chief Executive Officer, MIMS Group
Beginning his career in 2007, he held various roles at Japanese companies spanning product development, sales, and consulting, where he led business strategy formulation and the implementation of business transformations. Subsequently, upon earning his MBA from the National University of Singapore (NUS), he joined MIMS Group in 2019. After serving in leadership roles as Head of the Listing Business and Clinical Decision Solutions divisions, he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer. He has since spearheaded the redefinition of products and business models, the acceleration of digital innovation, and the restructuring of commercial and delivery capabilities to drive long-term, sustainable growth.
Tatsuya Koike
President, Recruiting Services, MIMS
After graduating from university in 2007, he began his career at SMS Co., Ltd. Following various roles in marketing, sales support, and as a business manager in Japan, he transitioned to the Overseas Business in 2013. He led the business in India and served as Chairman & CEO of eChannelling PLC, a listed company in Sri Lanka. Since being appointed as Head of the Global Career Business in 2016, he has spearheaded the launch and expansion of businesses across multiple countries, driving growth through both M&A and the establishment of local operations from the ground up.
