About

Masato Yamamoto completed his master’s in the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo in 2004. After working at NTT Docomo, he began working as the Head of Partner Sales in the Enterprise Division at Google Japan in 2008. In 2014, he became the Head of Business Development and Sales at Square Japan, and in 2016, he became the Head of Apple Pay Merchant Business at Apple Japan. He joined Merpay as CBO in April 2018, where he oversaw general business operations, such as credit design and merchant development. He was appointed CEO of Merpay in January 2022, taking on a dual role as a Director for Mercoin in July 2022.

Keisuke Sogawa completed his studies at the Graduate School of Informatics at Kyoto University, and joined an IPA Mitou Youth company in 2011. He went on to launch WebPay at FluxFlex in Silicon Valley. As the Chief Technology Officer of WebPay, he developed the service infrastructure for credit card payment services. He also worked on the LINE Pay business as part of the LINE Group. He joined Mercari Group in June 2017.

Sayaka completed her pre-doctoral course (master’s degree) at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering from Keio University Graduate School. In April 2006, she joined Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. After joining the company, she was engaged in investment/loan projects that utilize their own funds, etc., and was appointed as a Managing Director at the same company in 2017 based on her extensive financial knowledge outside of corporate finance. Outside of her work, she also serves as the Co-Chair of the Japan Women’s Network and leads the promotion of D&I. Sayaka became CFO in January 2021.

Akira Inoue graduated from the Faculty of Economics of Hokkaido University. In 1982, he joined Sumitomo Bank (now Mitsui Sumitomo Bank) before going on to work at Daiwa Securities SB Capital Markets. In 2005, he was appointed COO of Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments ahead of becoming CEO of the company in 2008. He next served as Managing Executive Officer of SMBC Nikko Securities before assuming the role of Group Deputy CRO for Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. In 2019, he became the Senior Managing Director and Internal Control Manager for SMBC Nikko Securities. He has been the CRCO for Merpay and Mercoin since September 2021. Inoue is in charge of assessing AML/AFC, compliance, and risk.

After working at Deutsche Bank, Naoki Aoyagi moved to GREE, where he held the positions of CFO, CEO of GREE’s US corporation, and general manager. In November 2017, he assumed the role of Merpay CEO. His responsibilities included promoting Mercari’s payment and financial businesses utilizing his expertise of the financial and tech industries on a global scale. He took on the role of Chief Executive Officer of Mercoin, Inc. in April 2021, and Senior Vice President of Japan Region (head of Mercari Group’s Japan businesses) in January 2022.

Kyosuke Nobukawa graduated from the Faculty of Policy Management at Keio University. He joined Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. in April 2002 and was involved in the credit business, data analysis, and risk management during his 16 years there. After joining Merpay in September 2019, he has demonstrated his expertise through his work on the Credit Design Team and in risk management. He has been in his current position since May 2020.

After graduating from Hitotsubashi University’s Faculty of Management and Commerce in 2007, Takeshi Nagasawa joined NTT Communications, where he was in charge of marketing and business development. He went on to complete his MBA at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2016, he joined Amazon Japan as manager of the Amazon Prime Video marketing team. He joined bitFlyer in 2018, becoming the head of executive business strategy the following year. He went on to join Merpay in April 2021. At Merpay, he was in charge of growth for the mobile payment service Merpay. He took on his current role in July 2022, where he oversees growth for Mercari Group’s fintech operations.

After graduating from music college, Mayumi Narisawa found herself moving into the IT field through a music education business she was involved in. She worked on the service design and UI/UX design of numerous mobile service providers at DeNA Co., Ltd., and then moved to Kyash Inc., where she was in charge of experience design for its physical card. She joined Merpay in 2018 as a Product Designer and took on the role of UX Lead, optimizing the Merpay screen whenever a new feature was introduced. She has helped lead the company from the time of its inception to its current phase of growth. After spending some time as Head of Design, she has been in her current post since January 2022.

After graduating from Hosei University, Ryo Umezawa worked at an apparel venture where he oversaw corporate operations, as well as a multinational online shopping startup where he was in charge of HR and general affairs. Following this, he joined Mercari in March 2018. He was initially involved in designing the HR systems for Mercari’s operations in both Japan and the US as part of HR planning, and in August 2018, he transferred to Merpay. As HR Director at Merpay, he oversaw a wide range of work to establish the company’s general HR functions like hiring, labor management, and HRBP. He went on to hold a dual role as HR Director for Mercoin. After serving as HR Director for Merlogi and Mercari Group’s other new business areas, he assumed his current position in July 2022. He now oversees HR for Mercari Group’s fintech operations.

After working as a freelance web director, Takaaki Shinohara joined GREE, Inc. in 2012. He joined BizReach, Inc. in 2014, where he launched a media service for people looking to change jobs. He joined Mercari in September 2017. After serving as Director/Head of CRE, he transferred to Merpay in April 2020, where he headed up the alliance project. He established Souzoh after that, in January 2021, where he oversaw PM/BD/CS/QA as Head of Product. He assumed his current role in July 2022. As Mercari and Merpay’s VP of Trust and Safety, Takaaki is committed to building a safe and reliable service ecosystem for Mercari Group.

Beginning in 2007, Shunya worked at MIXI, Inc., where he was in charge of work related to recommendation engine development and data utilization. He was also involved in developing advertisements and marketing data that leverage machine learning. Shunya joined Mercari in 2017 and was in charge of establishing R4D, Mercari’s research and development organization, as well as overseeing a multitude of AI-focused research fields. After that, he established an engineering organization dedicated to AI and search engine fields, was appointed to a director role, and was one of the leaders who pioneered the introduction of AI to Mercari. Since July 2022, Shunya has worked as VP of Platform Engineering, a position which oversees internal platform development. He has been in his current position since April 2023.

Yuta Sato completed the doctoral program (Juris Doctor [Specialist] Degree) of Waseda University’s Graduate School of Law and went on to pass the bar examination in 2010. After completing his practicum at The Legal Training and Research Institute of Japan, which is operated by the country’s Supreme Court, Sato began practicing law at a Tokyo law firm. In 2014, he joined SBI Holdings. There he served as Legal and Compliance General Manager and worked on topics related to fintech involving such things as venture capital, M&A, and the establishment of joint ventures, as well as cryptoasset and blockchain technologies, and overseas money transfers. After Sato joined Merpay in June 2018, he worked on various topics including legal, public policy, and finance; starting in January of 2021, he has worked as Mercari’s Corporate Finance Team Manager. He assumed his current position in July 2021.