After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Kwansei Gakuin University, in 1998, Taichi Hattori joined Nippon Telegraph and Telephone or NTT (now NTT Communications) and worked as a system engineer before being involved in the launch of international telephone businesses and overseas alliance strategies. In 2006, he joined Recruit Holdings and was involved in a wide range of activities, including overseas business development, investment strategy, and business management. After leading the M&A project for Indeed at Recruit, he was seconded to Indeed in 2012 and held positions of Vice President, Senior Vice President, and CFO at the headquarters in the U.S. After returning to Recruit, he joined SHIFT in July 2021 as Executive Officer and CFO, and in November 2021, he assumed the role of Director and CFO. With the establishment of SHIFT Growth Capital in March 2022, he became Representative Director.

Hidetaka Kojima started his career as a financial advisor at Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd. and then moved to GCA (Houlihan Lokey). After that, he joined Mitsubishi Corporation in 2011 upon the establishment of the Food Sciences Division and then SHIFT Inc. in 2020. He was also involved in the establishment of SHIFT Growth Capital Inc. and then appointed as a director of this company in March of 2022.
He has been responsible for the planning and execution of M&A/PMI strategy at these companies. Thus, he has over 15+ years’ hands-on M&A/PMI experience both in industry and as an advisor. He is also a regular speaker at M&A conferences/seminars and frequently contribute to M&A journals.
He completed 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 US Certified Public Accountant.

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 Audito 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 fromThe 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.