Japan Capitalism at Work - How Japan is Reinventing its Economy and Financial Markets

For decades, Japan has remained one of the top players in the global economy. Japan continues to keep up in a rapidly developing world stage alongside new players and technologies. "Japan Capitalism at Work - How Japan is Reinventing its Economy and Financial Markets" aims to shed light on the evolving realities and evolution of Japan’s economic landscape.

Join us on the morning of September 15 as we welcome a great group of founders and investors who will be joining us in San Francisco from Tokyo and New York City. Our speakers will unravel the complex dynamics of the business and regulatory environment in Japan, revealing the changing behaviors of Japanese issuers and their implications. They will share their insights on the Japanese corporate landscape drawn from their professional engagement. 

• Here is our strong lineup of speakers: 
• Katsumi Ao, Tokyo Stock Exchange
• Jesper Koll, Monex Group, Board Member of Asia Society Japan
• Oki Matsumoto, Monex Group / Japan Catalyst
• Kanya Hasegawa, 3D Investment Partners
• Steven Barg, Elliott Investment Management
• Susie Roos (Moderator), Partner and CAO of Geodesic Capital, Board Member of Asia Society Northern California 

AGENDA

9:00 - 9:30 a.m. - Registration & Breakfast Reception

9:30 - 9:35 a.m. - Welcome Remarks from Asia Society Northern California 

• Margaret Conley, Executive Director, Asia Society Northern California

9:35 - 9:45 a.m. - Macro Overview by Jesper Koll 

• Jesper Koll, Monex Group, Board Member of Asia Society Japan

9:45 - 10:20 a.m. - Keynote Interview and Q&A with the Tokyo Stock Exchange 

• Katsumi Ao, Tokyo Stock Exchange
• Oki Matsumoto, Monex Group / Japan Catalyst

10:20 - 11:40 a.m. - Panel Discussion and Q&A

• Susie Roos (Moderator), Partner and CAO of Geodesic Capital, Board Member of Asia Society Northern California 
• Kanya Hasegawa, 3D Investment Partners
• Steven Barg, Elliott Investment Management
• Oki Matsumoto, Monex Group / Japan Catalyst

11:40 - 11:45 a.m. - Closing Remarks 

11:45 - 12:00 p.m. - Event Concludes 

SPEAKER BIOS 

Katsumi Ao is Director and Senior Executive Officer of Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. After joining the company in April 1988, he was engaged in the planning and operation of listing and disclosure rules from 2003 to 2011. Subsequently, served as General Manager of the General Administration Department, the Human Resources Department, and the Equities Department; Executive Officer and General Manager of the Listing Department since April 2016; Senior Executive Officer since April 2022; and in his current position since April 2023.

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. In July 2015, he was the founding Chief Executive Officer of WisdomTree Japan and now serves as senior adviser to WisdomTree Asset Management. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently ranked as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for major U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Monex Group Global Ambassador and the Japan Catalyst Fund investment committee. His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees. In late 2016, Governor Koike appointed Jesper to her Tokyo Financial Center Advisory Board. He is also one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives.

Oki Matsumoto is the Executive Chairman of Monex Group, Inc., and the Chairman of Japan Catalyst, Inc. where he serves as the CIO of the Japan Catalyst Fund. Oki started his career at Salomon Brothers in 1987. He joined The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. in 1990 and became a general partner in 1994. He was a co-head of fixed income and foreign exchange at the Tokyo office, responsible for trading, risk management and overall products. In 1997, he launched the Special Situations Group, which later grew into one of the most profitable units in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. He retired in 1998. In 1999, he established Monex, Inc. with Sony Corporation and established Monex Group, Inc. in 2004. He was an outside director of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) from 2008 for five years, and has participated in various government councils on corporate governance reform, actively involved in improving and reforming the Japanese capital market. Currently, he is a member of the “Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Market Restructuring” at the TSE and an outside director of Mastercard Incorporated in the United States. Oki received his B.A. in Law from Tokyo University.

Kanya Hasegawa founded 3D Investment Partners in July 2015, and is the CEO and CIO of 3D. Prior to founding 3D, Kanya was a Partner and Managing Director at Broad Peak, a Singapore based Pan Asian equity focused multi-strategy hedge fund. Before that, Kanya was at Tudor Investment Corp in Singapore. Kanya started his career at Goldman Sachs’s Tokyo office in 2002, where he invested in distressed debt and real estate in the Merchant Banking Group and Special Situations Group. Kanya holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences from Johns Hopkins University where he was elected into Tau Beta Pi and graduated with honours.

Steven Barg is Global Head of Engagement at Elliott Management, with responsibility for optimizing interactions with investee management teams and their boards. Steven also has responsibility for coordinating all of Elliott’s relationships with its prime brokers and investment banks.   Steven was previously global head of Activism and Shareholder Advisory at Goldman Sachs, where his activity included advising a number of Japan’s largest companies. 

Prior to joining Goldman as a Partner in 2010 in Asia, Steven was head of Asian Global Capital Markets at UBS for two years and managed Asian ECM at UBS from 2006 to 2008. Earlier in his career, he was a managing director in ECM at UBS in New York and at Credit Suisse in New York and London. Steven earned a BA in English and American Studies from Wesleyan University in 1984 and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 1990. He was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs in New York from 1984 to 1985 and a Henry LuceScholar in Hong Kong from 1987 to 1988.  

Susan (Susie) Roos is a partner and CAO of Geodesic Capital. Prior to Geodesic, Susie was an employment and labor attorney with substantial experience advising and counseling employers in all areas of employment law and labor relations. As wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Susie lived in Tokyo, Japan from August 2009 to August 2013. While in Tokyo, Susie was an active voice supporting efforts to empower women in the workplace in Japan, and played an active role in the U.S. response to March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Susie is one of the founders of The TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership, and a member of USJC’s Board of Counselors. Susie received her A.B. from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of Southern California. She enjoys snow skiing, golf, gardening and politics. She is an avid fan of all Stanford athletic teams, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area professional teams…. Giants, 49ers and the Golden State Warriors.

THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT SPONSORS AND PARTNERS