About

After graduating from Hitotsubashi University’s Faculty of Management and Commerce in 2007, Takeshi 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. In 2021, he joined Merpay, where he oversaw growth for Merpay and Mercoin as Vice President of Growth (Fintech) starting in July 2022. He was appointed Vice President, Chief Operating Officer (Fintech) in April 2023 and subsequently appointed to the additional role of Vice President of Marketing (Marketplace) in June 2023. He was appointed Chief Growth Officer and Chief Executive Officer (Fintech), as well as Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer of Merpay in January 2024.

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.

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. In July 2022, Shunya was appointed Vice President of Platform Engineering, a position that oversees internal platform development. He has been in his current post since January 2024.

Masahiro graduated from both the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering Master’s program and the London Business School, where he was awarded a Masters in Finance with Distinction. He has been involved in a number of ventures, including working as a management strategy consultant for A.T. Kearney and developing financial risk and pricing models for NLI Research Institute. Following this, he worked on credit ratings at S&P Global until 2011 when he joined Nomura Holdings, Inc., where he was involved in global risk management for Nomura Group. In his time at Nomura Holding, Inc., he was in charge of credit risk management and enterprise risk management and worked as Managing Director, Head of Credit Risk Management of the Group and Asian Region, and Head of the Group Risk Management Head Office and Group Risk Management Department. In September 2023, Masahiro assumed the role of Merpay and Mercoin Vice President and CRO.He has been in his current position since July 2024.

Masato 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 Chief Business Officer in April 2018, where he oversaw general business operations, such as credit design and merchant development. He was appointed Representative Director, Chief Executive Officer of Merpay in January 2022; Vice President, Chief Executive Officer (Fintech) in July 2022; and Mercari Vice President, Chief Executive Officer (Marketplace) in November 2023. In January 2024, he assumed the positions of Mercari Executive Officer, Senior Vice President of Japan Region and Chief Executive Officer (Marketplace).

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 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.

Keigo joined DeNA Co., Ltd. in 2010, where he was in charge of backend/iOS development for social network games and new business projects. He joined Mercari Group in 2016. As a software engineer and engineering manager, he developed new apps and has also contributed to the launch of new businesses such as Merpay and Mercari Shops. Following his time as the Souzoh Head of Engineering, Keigo took up his current position as a Vice President of Engineering of Merpay.

In 1999, Satoru joined Nihon Unisys Software, Ltd. (currently BIPROGY Inc.), where he began his career as an engineer. In 2007, he co-founded Sansan, Inc. There, he was involved in product development and was in charge of rebuilding operations as the company grew, launching the company’s research and development division, and leveraging data. He also led information security for the company as CISO, as its business necessitated the handling of large amounts of personal information. Before leaving, he held the positions of Director, CISO, and Data Strategy & Operation Center Head. He then assumed the position of VP of Engineering at EARTHBRAIN Ltd., which aims to digitally transform the public works industry, in May 2022, before taking the position of Vice President of Engineering at Merpay, Inc. in July 2024.

After graduating from Ritsumeikan University in 2009, Yuki joined Nikon Corporation, where he was in charge of system planning and networks. In 2016, he joined a FX and cryptoasset exchange venture company, where he led corporate IT, product infrastructure, and security domains. Then, after working for PricewaterhouseCoopers Arata LLC (now PricewaterhouseCoopers Japan LLC), in January 2020 he joined the IT Risk Management Team at Merpay. Following this, he took charge of system risk and security in the Fintech domain as Head of IT Risk and Security, before assuming his current position in July 2024. He holds the concurrent position of Director of Mercoin, Inc.

After completing his master’s at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in 2024, Heesung joined Recruit Co., Ltd. as a product manager for new businesses, such as educational services and dating apps. In 2019, he joined Merpay, where he led growth for the payment and credit businesses, including Mercard. He was also in charge of the growth platform development division. He assumed his current position in July 2024.

After joining Dell Technologies Japan Inc.’s HR division in 2003, Ai worked on HR for Japan and the Asia-Pacific region in the areas of HR planning, compensation systems, M&As, and more. In 2014, she joined Cisco Systems G.K., and assumed the role of Head of Human Resources in August 2016. She led culture reform, engagement, and leadership initiatives at Cisco, and the company ranked #1 in Great Place to Work’s Best Workplaces in Japan (large company division) list in 2018, 2021, and 2023. In addition to her work within Cisco, she has also taken the stage in many lectures and seminars toward fulfilling her personal purpose to create the future of workstyles in Japan. She assumed her current position in April 2025.