SBF Company Introduction :: Main Consultant Profiles

		Yutaka Ujiie
		President & CEO / Founder Software, IT Services / Corporate Venturing
		The founder and president of SBF, Inc., Mr. Ujiie has over 25 years biz experience in investment banking and technologies areas and now he is working to link high-tech innovation in the U.S. with compatible Japanese companies, thereby encouraging international synergy and success. Prior to founding SBF, he worked at Nikko Securities for nearly two decades. At Nikko, he gained extensive expertise and experience in the areas of business planning, corporate research /analysis and other investment banking services. For last ten years, he was especially involved in supporting in IPO, venture capital financing and M&A for emerging private firms in Japan. The charged companies cover Japanese local corporations of Silicon Graphics, Compaq, Intuit and other. He is now an official IT industrial advisor of Miyagi and Osaka prefecture in Japan, also a member of The Japan Society for Science Policy and Research Management. He contributes articles on high-tech trends of US to Nikkei-Net, the web-version of Nikkei Newspaper. He is a graduate of Tohoku University, where he majored in macro and financial economics.
	Communication Electronics, Semiconductor Devices, Materials

		Jeff Blokker
		Communication, Electronics / Materials
		Jeff Blokker completed all PHD course work in Electrical Engineering and was a research assistant under Nobel Laureate Herbert Kromer investigating GaAs device fabrication at UCSB. He left school with a Masters degree in 1984 to form a corporation, CableSoft Inc, that he ran as CEO for 18 years. He has a broad engineering background with in expertise in software development, networks, digital circuits, embedded processors, RF circuits, microwave devices, and device fabrication. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Engineering Management, a member of the Board of Directors of the UCSB Engineering Advisory Committee, and Member Board of Directors of the Mericos Foundation at the Whittier Trust Company.
		Tatsuo Mikami
		Telematics and other Wireless Comm. / Space Development
		Mr. Mikami started his career in one of Japan's leading computer manufacturer, engaged in the development of the deep space orbit determination system, joined the design work of Japanese module of Space Station project, and integrated the sub-system of the space robotic experimental satellite. Then, he engaged in the plan and design/development of in-vehicle computer systems and Telematics systems. As a part of this business, he transferred to a US subsidiary, where he led the research and business development team as the VP and promoted related alliance business, and grew experiences in IT fields such as Telematics, e-business, logistics. He is particularly knowledgeable about space development field, IT technologies for transportations and automobiles. Graduate of Nagoya University, Graduate School of Information Science.
		Sheridan Tatsuno
		Communication, Electronics / Semiconductor Devices
		Mr. Tatsuno has worked for market research and business strategy consulting firm and e-business venture incubator. Mr. Tatsuno worked at Bechtel in civil infrastructure planning, international project financing, and environmental assessment. He co-founded Dataquest's Japan and Asian semiconductor groups and served as industry liaison manager at Stanford University's U.S.-Japan Technology Management Center. Mr. Tatsuno also haslong experience in venture support and consulting venture cluster. He is the author of two books produced for television: The Technopolis Strategy (Prentice-Hall, 1986) and Created in Japan (HarperCollins, 1990). He is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
		Oskar Vierny
		Communication, Electronics / Digital Devices
		Mr. Vierny assists entrepreneurs in developing market and product strategy, in forming strategic alliances, in raising capital and launching their ventures. Having strong ties to the Israeli hi-tech industry, Oskar is poised to serve as a liaison between those hi-tech frontiers and any company seeking a genuine, advanced technology. Formerly, he held senior managerial positions in Customer R&D and worked in the Manufacturing and in the Corporate Technology Center at Applied Materials, Inc., where he incubated and launched new product into a self-sustained business unit. His product and business development experience spans industrial control, telecommunication, semiconductors, and nano materials. Oskar holds a BSEE degree from the Israeli Technion, and a Certificate in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley, California.
	Software, Computer Infra, IT Services

		Keith Bennett Ph.D.
		IT Solution / Optical Technology, Devices
		Dr. Bennett has a strong technical and business background in photonics, optical systems and instruments and over twenty-year's experience in international (particularly Japan - US) high technology businesses. He specializes in assisting large and mid-sized companies enter new markets and expand their technological competencies. Notable achievements include starting the Newport Corporation's transformation from a mechanical component company to a leader in optoelectronic instrumentation and equipment. Most recently, he co-founded Symphony Systems, a Silicon Valley startup that provides web-based Equipment Productivity Management software solutions for the semiconductor industry, and served as its Chief Executive Officer. He holds a bachelor's degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a master's and doctorate in applied physics, with a specialization in lasers from Stanford University.
		Mary Jean Koontz Ph.D.
		Software / Life Science IT
		Ms. Koontz has 15 years of international market research and management consulting experience for global corporations and government agencies in the U.S., Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. She has been involved in project management of high-profile projects; design of qualitative and quantitative client projects, preparation of IT and e-commerce industry. She also covers "human science", environmental, healthcare, partly biotechnologies. Ms. Koontz worked five years for Dames & Moore, as an environmental auditor and Asia business development manager. She has Ph.D. from Golden Gate University. Also she has MBA focusing international marketing from University of South Carolina and B.S. from Georgetown University.
		Yoshimitsu Ido
		Software / Computer, Information System
		Mr. Ido started his career in one of Japan's major steelmaking companies, developed automatic control systems and designed process control system such as coal liquefaction and SCADA. Also, he grew new businesses such as the parallel-type supercomputer together with a US venture company, and did research on project management of engineering. Later, he became the CIO of a US communications company, and then experienced development of remote maintenance systems for computer networks and methods of automatic generation of software code and others. He is particularly knowledgeable about high-speed computing. He is a member of the Physical Society of Japan and the IEEE. He is author of Introduction to Electronics (co-translator), "Instrumentation Handbook" (chief editor), and "Introduction to Parallel Processing" (co-author). Graduate of Tokyo University, School of Engineering, Dept. of Mathematical Engineering and Information Physics.
		Andre Serrao
		IT Services / Network management
		Mr. Serrao's technological background is telecommunications industry. His experience includes designing cable networks / WAN networks, hosting services and security solutions. Now in SBF, he covers mainly network communication, mobile and wireless, and security solutions. He also investigating technology trend through R&D activities and VC investment. He has a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from State University of Campinas (Unicamp), Brazil, and he is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
	International Biz / Corporate Venturing

		Saeko Ozawa
		Financial Market / International Biz Strategy
		Ms Ozawa started her career in the securities industry at Morgan Stanley in 1987 immediately after graduating from Kellogg School, Northwestern University with an MBA. Since then, she has worked as an equities sales-trader, an investment risk management consultant, and a financial consultant at Swiss Bank Corp. (UBS), Instinet Co., Barra Co. (MSCI Bara), and Merrill Lynch in New York, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Silicon Valley. Prior to attending Kellogg School, she worked as a researcher at JETRO and Dataquest. She holds an MA in Sociology and Anthropology of Education from University of California, Berkeley, and a BA from Waseda University in Tokyo.
		Roger Chen, Ph.D.
		International IT Biz Strategy / Corporate Software
		Dr. Roger Chen is a faculty member at School of Business and Management of University of San Francisco. He has a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Texas, a M.S from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and a B.S from Shanghai Engineering and Technology University. Since coming to the U.S., he has worked at Galaxy Electronics Inc., AsiaInfo Co. and JKRen.com. He is an expert on High-Tech business model, strategy and international business. He has received "Silicon Valley Guru" Award by Silicon Valley Roundtable of the National Business & Economics Association, and his article received the "Abramson Award for Outstanding Article" from the Business Economics Journal. He has been actively involved in business consulting and research.
		Nobuyuki Hata (Advisory Board)
		Venture Infra, Venture capital
		Mr. Hata worked as a security analyst in the investment banking division of Nomura Research Institute for 17 years. In 1991, he joined JAFCO as the manager of the evaluation department. He moved to Kokugakuin University to become a professor of corporate finance in 1994. He is now visiting scholar of Stanford University, researching US venture capital and venture firms. He is a member of Council on Modernization of Small and Medium Sized Firms by METI and a director of The Japanese Academic Society for Venture & Entrepreneur as well. Co-translator of "Venture Capital at the Crossroads" by Bygrave & Timmons, 1995. Editor/co-author of "The Diversification of Venture Finance" 1996. Co-author of "Management of Venture Firms and Its Support" 2000. He holds Bachelor and Master of Economics degrees from Waseda University.
	Advisory Board

		Tai Hasegawa, Ph.D.
		Nanotechnology
		Dr. Hasegawa worked initially as researcher at Poland Academy Institute of Physical Science in Warsaw, then he came to Stanford, CA, where he obtained a permanent residency. Beside his scientific endeavors in the Chemistry Department, he was nominated as the president of the Henry Taube Institute, which was established to honor Nobel laureate Dr. Taube. In addition to his academic career, he is an active member of Palo Alto Philharmonic and began to study piano with his favorite Steinway, "Millennium". Dr. Hasegawa received his B.S., M.S., and Ph. D. from the University of Tokyo, Japan.
		Katsuhide Hirai
		IT Biz Planning Consulting / Infra Software, IT Services
		Mr. Hirai served as a member of the board of directors and President of Fujitsu Software Corporation and Fujitsu Network Industry Inc. since 1994. He was responsible for directing and managing the company's overall business strategy and direction in the North American and European market. He is a veteran of the global software industry, having worked in both Japan and the United States, first as an engineer and later as an executive directing and implementing Fujitsu software strategy. His engineering and marketing experience covers a wide range of business and industry application software, including CAD/CAM/CAE, ERP, groupware and supercomputer applications. A member of IEEE, SIGGRAPH and the Information Processing Society of Japan. He has also served as a director of the MIT X-Windows Consortium and Computer and Communication Industry Association in the U.S. He is graduate of Osaka University, where he earned a degree in engineering science.