Leadership

HOME > About > Leadership

LeadershipManagement Team & Advisors

Management TeamManagement Team

CEO / Representative Partner (Singapore, Tokyo)

Susumu Tsubaki
Partner (Shanghai)

Hideya Tanaka
Partner (Singapore, India)

Shohei Namba
Director (Singapore)

Shigeru Handa
Principal (Tokyo)

Ayako Kitano
Principal (Tokyo)

Yukihiko Sugimura
Principal (Kenya)

Hiroki Ishida
Principal (Kenya/Egypt)

Chiaki Hoshino
Principal (Nigeria)

Nobuhiko Ichimiya

AdvisorsSenior Advisors

Senior Adviser (Africa Representative)

Yoshiyuki Sato
Senior Adviser

Hiroshi Ishino
Senior Adviser

Kazunari Uchida
Senior Adviser

Masayuki Tamagawa
Senior Adviser

Susumu Nakajima
Senior Adviser

Isamu Ochiai
Senior Advisor

Takashi Hattori
Senior Advisor

Toshiaki Hirose
Senior Advisor

Kenji Sekine

Susumu Tsubaki

CEO / Representative Partner (Singapore, Tokyo)

Founded AAIC in 2008. Former BCG Partner & Managing Director with 15 years of consulting in hi-tech, telecom, internet, and media. Established AAIC Investment (fund management) in 2013. Manages Africa Healthcare Funds with 62 cumulative investments. MBA Professor at Business Breakthrough University. Co-authored "Hyper-accelerated Africa Economy."

Education The University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences

Area of expertise Strategic Consulting, Investment, HR and Talent management

Area in charge All regions

Hideya Tanaka

Partner (Shanghai)

Involved in China business launches since 2002 at Recruit Co., Ltd., building advertising media and HR businesses from scratch across 3 cities, 3 businesses, 5 entities, and 300+ employees. Co-founded AAIC in 2008. Focuses on business strategy, marketing, and operations across Greater China and Southeast Asia.

Education Waseda University, School of Commerce

Area of expertise Corporate strategy, business restructuring, marketing strategy

Area in charge China (Taiwan, Hong Kong) and selected regions of Southeast Asia and Africa

Shohei Namba

Partner (Singapore, India)

Shohei Namba is a Director of AAIC since 2019. Prior to joining AAIC, Namba engaged mainly in global projects such as systemization strategies, supply chain innovation and operational improvement, covering the US, Europe and Asia. He was also responsible for the planning and implementation of production management system for steel companies during his assignment at IBM India Pte., Ltd. At GREE Inc., one of the largest global social gaming companies, Namba served as a product manager and led various projects including the establishment of a global gaming platform, planning of virtual currency distribution, meeting local financial regulations and business development. Since joining Pan Asia Partners (now AAIC) in 2014, Namba is responsible for supporting overseas expansion in India, Southeast Asia, and Africa. In addition to electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods such as beauty and healthcare products, primary industries and food processing, the automotive and motorcycle sectors, and digital content, the company also handles sustainability initiatives. Additionally, conducting various surveys and developing strategies, establishing local partnerships, and providing support for marketing strategy and execution, we contribute to our clients' growth through M&A, capital alliances, and the creation of new businesses.

Education Namba holds a Master of Science (in Science and Engineering) from Keio University.

Area of expertise Support for international expansion (strategy development and on-site implementation support), investment partnerships and M&A, new business planning and launch, and startup support

Area in charge India, Southeast Asia, Africa

Shigeru Handa

Director (Singapore)

20+ years in business development and international development. Former JBIC (Latin America infrastructure), BCG (portfolio reform, retail, pharma), Natural Lawson (brand strategy), and 8 years at UNDP Iraq (infrastructure, private sector development). Board member of multiple startups.

Education Kyoto University, Faculty of Law / University of Southern California, MPA & M.Acc.

Area of expertise Startup investment, Acceleration growth support to startups, Fund raising, new business development

Area in charge Emerging countries in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe

Ayako Kitano

Principal (Tokyo)

Joined 2012 from Hoshino Resorts. Previously at Boston Consulting Group. Specializes in consumer insights, marketing strategy, branding, and sustainability strategy. End-to-end support from survey design to insight extraction and implementation.

Education Keio University, Faculty of Policy Management

Area of expertise Consumer Goods, Marketing, Branding, Consumer Survey / Insight, New business development, Social Contribution and Sustainability

Area in charge Mainly in Japan, China, Africa, etc. (project-based)

Yukihiko Sugimura

Principal (Tokyo)

Founded Daybreak Consulting. Former roles: Apple Japan (product planner), BCG (telecom, marketing reform), Fujitsu (M&A due diligence). Kanagawa Prefecture advisor for 8 years (PR strategy, healthcare). Hands-on consulting across renewable energy and healthcare.

Education Waseda University, Faculty of Letters

Area of expertise General management strategy

Area in charge Japan

Hiroki Ishida

Principal (Kenya)

Joined AAIC in 2013. In 2015, he relocated to Kenya to establish AAIC's Africa office, where he is now a permanent resident. He has been actively involved in fund management since the launch of Fund I and currently serves as a member of the Investment Committee for Fund II. His investment activities focus on the healthcare and innovation sectors across Africa, including North Africa, where he works closely with portfolio companies to drive growth and value creation. He has been featured in Forbes Africa and regularly participates as a speaker at industry conferences in the venture capital and healthcare sectors. Prior to joining AAIC, he worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, where he developed a strong foundation in finance through roles in corporate banking, covering operations, client relationship management, and business planning. He also served in the Human Resources Department as a team leader responsible for designing and implementing talent development programs. After earning his MBA, he joined Accenture, where he advised on offshore development initiatives for automotive companies in emerging Asia and supported M&A integration projects for global financial institutions.

Education Ishida holds a Bachelor of Arts (in Managerial Accounting) from Kobe University, and an M.B.A from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Class of 2012).

Area of expertise Finance, VC, Investment, Startups, Healthcare, Banking

Area in charge Africa (primarily East and North Africa)

Chiaki Hoshino

Principal (Kenya/Egypt)

Since joining in 2016, has led the consulting business in Africa, spearheading numerous projects covering market research, distributor and partner identification, market entry strategy development, investment opportunity sourcing, financial advisory support, and hands-on post-investment/business launch support. Known for a highly execution-oriented approach and a willingness to work closely on the ground, leveraging an extensive local network built through years of experience in Africa to provide practical and effective support tailored to market realities.

Education Hoshino graduated from Keio University School of Science and Engineering Department of Management Engineering.

Area of expertise Strategic Consulting, M&A

Area in charge Africa (General)

Nobuhiko Ichimiya

Principal (Nigeria)

Nobuhiko Ichimiya is a Principal of AAIC. He was CFO of an E-commerce start-up company in Rwanda invested by one of the biggest Japanese IT companies and led the finance team to work on the implementation of the governance prior to joining AAIC. Ichimiya was also engaged in power infrastructure industry especially about IPP/IWPP for 7 years. He served as a Senior Manager - Commercial and Finance in Marubeni Power Asset Management in Abu Dhabi, UAE for 3 years. He worked on the accounting, tax, commercial challenges of 10 projects in Middle East (UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia) co-working with the management of project companies. He also took the board sheet of 5 project companies and worked on the negotiation and relationship among shareholders. Before that, Ichimiya worked as Financial and accounting coordinator in the Power and Infrastructure division in Marubeni Corporation for 4 years and worked on Account closing and budgeting/forecasting of subsidiaries and affiliates in Taiwan, UAE, India, South East Asia.

Education Ichimiya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Commerce from Waseda University.

Yoshiyuki Sato

Senior Adviser (Africa Representative)

Worked at Toray in Kenya (1966-1970). Founded Kenya Nuts Company in 1974, built into Kenya's largest nuts enterprise with 4,000+ employees and $50M revenue over 35 years. Established Rwanda Nut Company in 2012.

Education Tokyo University of Foreign Studies / University of Ghana

Hiroshi Ishino

Senior Adviser

Former Mitsubishi Corporation executive in automotive sector (Middle East, China, Thailand). Kansai Paint Managing Director, then President & CEO; proposed worldwide expansion strategy including Africa.

Education The University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law / Wharton MBA (1982)

Kazunari Uchida

Senior Adviser

Former Waseda Business School professor. BCG senior VP and Japan representative (2000-2004). Named "25 Leading Consultants Worldwide" (2006). Author of numerous business strategy books.

Education The University of Tokyo / Keio University MBA

Masayuki Tamagawa

Senior Adviser

Ministry of Finance career since 1981. Held positions at IMF, ADB, AfDB, and Japan Tobacco. Currently Professor and Managing Director at Kogakuin University.

Education The University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law / University of Oxford, MPhil

Susumu Nakajima

Senior Adviser

30+ years in electronics manufacturing (Japan/China). Former Panasonic executive and president of Panasonic China operations. Currently special advisor to Sichuan Changhong.

Education Osaka University, Faculty of Economics

Isamu Ochiai

Senior Adviser

Former Lawson corporate officer. As General Manager of Shanghai Hualian Lawson, achieved profitability and tripled shop count. 30+ years retail industry experience across Daiei, Natural Lawson, and Hokka Hokka Tei.

Takashi Hattori

Senior Advisor

Led Toyota Tsusho's African operations. Executed major acquisitions including CFAO (France, 2012, ¥234.5B). Former Senior Vice President and first Head of Africa Division. Ambassador to Sudan (2020-2023).

Education Nagoya Institute of Technology, Mechanical Engineering

Toshiaki Hirose

Senior Advisor

Former professional rugby player and Japan national team captain (2012-2014). Founded HiRAKU Inc. focusing on sports, education, and community co-creation. Appeared in TV drama "No Side Game" during 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Education Keio University, Faculty of Science and Technology

Kenji Sekine

Senior Advisor

Career spanning Industrial Bank of Japan, Willis Towers Watson (pension consulting, M&A), and Marsh McLennan (group strategy). Chair of IAA Membership Assistance Committee (2025), leading actuarial capacity building in emerging markets.

Education Keio University / Wharton School MBA