D-POPS GROUP boasts a diverse pool of talent, including former executives and directors of major corporations, serial entrepreneurs who have built listed companies and multi-billion-dollar scale enterprises from the ground up, founders who have created major global companies, and former ambassadors.
We are committed to working with aspiring entrepreneurs to help them successfully guide their companies through the IPO process, become the next generation of business leaders, and reach their next breakthrough.
Kazuhiro Goto graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Musashi University, and studied abroad as a scholarship student at the University of Kent, England (majoring in International Relations). In 1997, he joined a startup company to train in entrepreneurship. In 1998, he founded D-POPS Corp., the predecessor and current subsidiary of D-POPS GROUP. His goal was to establish a new, more sophisticated distribution model in the continually growing telecommunications industry. Within 15 years of its founding, his company achieved group sales of 10 billion yen in 2013. From the fiscal year 2014 to 2015, he served as the 19th term chairman at EO Japan (Entrepreneurs’ Organization Japan), a community of rapidly growing young entrepreneurs. Currently, he manages 23 business companies under D-POPS GROUP. His management philosophy is strongly influenced by Konosuke Matsushita, and his business strategy is influenced by Den Fujita. D-POPS GROUP'S mid-term business plan is to attain group sales of 50 billion yen, while the long-term business plan is to achieve group sales of 100 billion yen, and the company is making great strides in expanding its business.
Sachio Semmoto graduated from the Engineering Faculty of Kyoto University, and then joined the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT). He completed his doctoral program at the University of Florida as a Fulbright scholar. During his time as a department head at the Kinki Telecommunication Bureau, he met Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, which led him to decide to start his own business. Alongside Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, he co-founded Daini Denden (later known as KDDI). He held positions such as Vice President of Daini Denden and President of DDI Tokyo Pocket Telephone (now known as Y!mobile). After serving as a professor at the Keio University Graduate School of Business Administration from 1996, he founded eAccess and took the company public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section in record time. Subsequently, he founded eMobile and served as the company's Honorary Chairman until March 2014. He has also held positions such as Visiting Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.
While attending Keio University's Faculty of Economics, Ichiro Fujisaki left his studies to join Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1969. The ministry sent him to study English at Brown University and graduate school at Stanford University, after which he served at various positions at the Embassy of Japan in Indonesia, the OECD Diplomatic Mission, the Ministry of Finance's Budget Bureau, the Embassy of Japan in the United Kingdom, and the Embassy of Japan in the United States. He held positions such as Director-General of the North American Affairs Bureau in 1999, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2002, Ambassador to the Permanent Mission of Japan in Geneva in 2005, and Ambassador to the United States in 2008. After retiring, he has served as a specially appointed professor and international strategy advisor at Sophia University, a board member of ITOCHU Corporation, a board member of Nippon Steel Corporation, and the Chairman of the Nakasone Peace Institute. He was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in 2022. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Japan-United States Association, the Director-General of the Kita Kamakura Joshi Gakuen Foundation, and the Chairman of the International Education Promotion Association.
In 1991, Shinichiro Naito graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at Nihon University. He joined Recruit Co., Ltd. Human Resources Center (now Recruit Career Co., Ltd.) upon graduation. In 1996, he founded ALEST Co., Ltd. (now Findstar Co., Ltd.), and assumed the role of President and CEO. In 2002, he entered the advertising agency business with a focus on niche media (i.e., media channels outside of TV, newspapers, magazines, and radio). As a pioneer in the industry, he conducted business with over 1,100 advertisers and recruited more than 3,000 niche media outlets into the advertising ecosystem. In 2012, he was awarded the "Management of the Year" award by the Diamond Management Club for creating a new advertising agency model in the direct marketing industry. In 2015, he became the founding representative of the Findstar Group. He has also served as the 25th term chairman of EO Tokyo Central, a global network organization for entrepreneurs and founders.
Fujiyo Ishiguro graduated from Nagoya University's Faculty of Economics and earned an MBA from Stanford University in the US. After managing international marketing at Brother Industries, Ltd., and leading new business ventures at Swarovski Japan, she founded a high-tech consulting firm in Silicon Valley. She worked on alliances and technology transfers between Japan and the US, with clients like Yahoo, Netscape, Sony, and Panasonic. In 1999, she joined NetYear Group's MBO and became its President and CEO from 2000 onward. Currently, she holds roles as Director and Chief Evangelist at NetYear Group Co., Ltd., and as a Director at Mitsui & Co., Ltd. In recent years, she has served in public capacities such as the IT Headquarters and Public-Private Data Strategy Council at the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan, the "Choosing the Future" Committee at the Cabinet Office, the Industrial Structure Council at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the 2016 Japan-US Economic Research Council at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Genta Sugihara graduated from the Faculty of Information Science at the University of Tsukuba in 1990, and he joined CSK (now SCSK). In 1993, he moved to Daini Denden (currently known as KDDI), where he engaged in various projects during the early stages of the PHS mobile phone business. Since 2001, he worked in the startup and transformation phases of tech ventures such as AOL Japan, eMobile and Napster. In 2007, he joined Google Japan, where he served as Head of APAC Business Development and Director of Partner Business Solutions, Japan and Korea, led various business alliances in Asia, and contributed to the expansion of the search market share and the publishers' network. In 2016, he joined Kakaku.com, Inc., as an Executive Officer of the Corporate Strategy Division, where he was responsible for M&A and startup investment worldwide. After serving as the Japan Country Manager of AppsFlyer, an Israeli tech venture, he was appointed as an advisor to D-POPS GROUP in January 2024.
Support Areas:
1. IT & business development
2. Human resource development
3. International investments and partnerships
Tetsuya Watanabe graduated from Dokkyo University and joined Yodobashi Camera in April 1993. He served for over 15 years as the head of procurement for communication and information products. He implemented various business ideas on-site, such as broadband counters, mobile carrier-specific sales areas, 100-yen computers, entry packages for SIM cards, and SIM-free counters, contributing to the growth of Yodobashi (sales of 650 billion yen/profit of 55 billion yen) as one of the key players. After serving as an Executive Officer and Head of the Business Division at Yodobashi Camera, he founded un.mode (formerly W.H.O Corporation) in 2016. Alongside providing consulting services to telecommunications and sales companies, he also ventures into various new businesses. He was appointed Advisor of D-POPS Corp. in 2017, and then as Managing Executive Officer of D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd. in 2021.
Support Areas:
1. Business strategy planning & execution
2. Organizational and operational improvement & reform
3. Procurement support & sales support
Yoshihiro Yoneya left the Faculty of Economics at Hokkaido University and passed Japan’s Certified Public Accountant Exam in 2009. He joined the Financial Business Division of Deloitte Tohmatsu in 2010 at the Sapporo and Sendai offices. He engaged in financial statement audits and internal control audits for various companies including regional financial institutions. Through auditing regional financial institutions, he gained extensive experience in corporate analysis and advisory services. In 2018, he worked as a manager in the Corporate Accounting Department at Kita-no-Tatsujin Corporation, and in 2021, served as an overall leader in the Accounting Department at Tsuruha Holdings, in charge of handling consolidated financial statements for prime-listed companies and establishing management systems in financial accounting, management accounting, and taxation areas. He joined D-POPS GROUP in 2023, and is currently supporting the establishment of management systems for multiple group companies, including PMI.
Support Areas:
1. Formulation of management accounting system
2. Financial accounting, tax accounting
3. Formulation of overall management control system
D-POPS GROUP is a collective of companies that integrates actual businesses and technology together, a concept that we denote as
Real World x Technology x Synergy. We’re pioneering a unique growth platform for companies within and beyond our network,
providing comprehensive solutions that benefit the entire Venture Ecosystem, from early-stage startups to established growth companies.
