After roles at Daiwa Securities, GCA and Mitsubishi Corporation, Hidetaka Kojima joined SHIFT in 2020 to build and lead its M&A/PMI function. He was involved in the establishment of SHIFT Growth Capital and was appointed as the director of the board in March 2022. He was elected as representative director in November 2024. He was involved in the establishment of SHIFT USA and appointed as the director & CEO in February 2025. He also serves as a board member of the Japan Academic Society for M&A Research, an advisor to venture capital firms and startups, and is active as an angel investor.
He completed the PLD course (PLDA) at Harvard Business School. He also received an MBA from Hitotsubashi University and earned a BA from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. He is a certified accountant.

Kazuaki Baba graduated from Keio University with a degree in Law and completed an MBA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management as a Fulbright Scholar.
He has 16 years of experience at Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Securities, working in both Tokyo and London. He specialized in M&A sourcing, advisory services, and strategic financing arrangements, including leveraged buyouts for domestic and international corporations as well as private equity firms.
He joined SHIFT in April 2022 and assumed the role of Head of M&A Execution in July, overseeing execution responsibilities. He currently serves as an Executive Officer at SHIFT USA, leading corporate planning initiatives, including M&A. He was appointed as a director of the board at SHIFT Growth Capital Inc. in September 2025.

After graduating from the Faculty of Commerce at Meiji University, Yusuke Arai worked on accounting at Tatsumi Shoji and Sunko Techno. He joined Chuo Aoyama Audit Corporation (now Misuzu Audit Corporation) in 2006 and Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC in 2008, auditing clients in a wide range of industries, including IT, manufacturing and construction. His expertise includes supporting IPOs and establishing internal controls. He joined SHIFT as an Outside Director and Audit & Supervisor Committee Member since November 2021. Certified Public Accountant and Certified Tax Accountant.

Graduated from The University of Tokyo , Faculty of Law (LL.B.) and completed LL.M. at Harvard Law School, admitted to Japanese Bar (Daini Tokyo Bar Association) in 2001, and joined Anderson, Mori & Tomotsune in 2001 and Tokyo International Law Office in 2021. Naoko Yanaka has extensive experience in all aspects of corporate law, including M&A, cross-border transactions, finance and labour law. She was selected as a finalist for Private Practitioner of the Year, North Asia at the ALB Women in Law Awards 2021 and Woman Lawyer of the Year (Law Firm) at the ALB Japan Law Awards 2022.

Mr. Sasaki began his career in 1999 at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (now MUFG Bank, Ltd.). In 2003, he joined SoftBank Corp. (now SoftBank Group Corp.), where he worked in the Finance Department on acquisition financing and M&A transactions. In 2017, he became a founding member of the SoftBank Vision Fund, serving as Managing Partner of its London office while also acting as Co-Head of the Tokyo office. In July 2025, he established his own venture capital fund as an independent initiative and launched Soleil Partners, a firm providing advisory services to startups and funds both domestically and internationally, where he serves as the Representative Director.