NAIST & B-Bridge Online Training to Experience Silicon Valley 2022/3/12-17

Mr. Kato founded his own venture company in the U.S., drawing on his experience at a large Japanese company, a venture company in the U.S., and a large company in the U.S. He is the CEO and President of B-Bridge International, Inc. After graduating from Doshisha University, he worked for Toyobo Corporation, selling diagnostic reagents and reagents overseas. 1996, he moved to Silicon Valley to work for a research reagent manufacturer and moved to the U.S. In 2000, he established B-Bridge International, Inc. as a research reagent sales company. In 2003, he founded Silicon Valley Japan College (NPO) with fellow local entrepreneurs. Currently, he focuses on education, training, regional development, and dual career support for athletes.

After graduating from Keio University, he joined JP Morgan's investment banking division. 2003, he joined Sony, where he was in charge of overseas business. 2009, he received an MBA from the University of Michigan. 2009, he joined the CEO office as CEO/CFO staff to promote structural reform and M&A projects. He founded Takeoff Point in 2015. He provides business support and human resource development services to Sony's new businesses and startups in Silicon Valley. He also serves as an advisor for several accelerators and is involved in entrepreneurship education as a part-time lecturer at universities and high schools in Japan and the US.

Born in Nagasaki, Japan, he entered the University of Tokyo in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science I and received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1993 from the Department of Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. His research interests include facial expression analysis using facial images. After graduation, he joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. After leaving the company in 1998, he studied at the University of Texas at Austin, Electrical and Computer Engineering. After receiving his PhD in 2006, he joined Sealed Air Corp. and moved to Silicon Valley. He was involved in the research and development of image recognition systems for food control and sanitation. In 2014, he left the company and joined OAS Design Group, Inc. to develop the next generation of commercial ovens. After leaving the company in 2018, he joined MagicLeap, Inc. to develop AR glasses. In 2020, he joined Amazon, Inc. Worked on the development of a shopping cart with self-checkout functionality; joined Google in 2022, where he was involved in prototyping a new model of GoogleHome; joined Google, Inc. In parallel with the above, he established a wine import/export business with a friend in 2008, and is working to introduce Napa wine and its culture to Japan. In 2009, he launched PeopleWave, Inc. with a friend to develop and launch a mind training kit for athletes using brainwave sensors, and in 2016, he began working to establish a university in Silicon Valley with the hope of "energizing Japan. Currently, he is a board member at SVJC, the predecessor organization. His hobby is skiing. Recently purchased a small airplane with four friends. Using it, he is working hard to obtain a pilot's license.

Born in Beijing, China. Formerly an assistant professor at Showa Women's University, where she taught for 15 years, she also worked as a newscaster for NHK satellite broadcasting and as a freelance journalist appearing regularly on commercial TV programs related to China information. On the other hand, he started his own business as a graduate student and was involved in trade and internationalization of top Japanese companies to China. 2001, he moved to Hawaii upon his early retirement, and eight years later, he has been trying again as an entrepreneur, again aiming for Silicon Valley. 　He is currently the Marketing Director of the World Financial Group, a comprehensive financial services platform, where he manages financial perfection services, and is passionate about consulting and entrepreneurship coaching for small and medium-sized companies. His belief is that every person should have the opportunity for practical education. He believes that through deepening one's entrepreneurship, one can get to the heart of life without borders as an individual and improve the environment of the community and society.