Executive Impact
Biotech-for-hire PeptiDream charts new path and becomes short target
The promise of PeptiDream Inc's drug-discovery technology and its lucrative research-for-hire contracts have made it a darling of the Tokyo stock market. Now, those gains have made it a target for short-seller Muddy Waters. The company, which has seen its market value jump fivefold to $6 billion over the past… Read
Scent to Japan
Very quickly after Jacques Chabert created the Re-charge Black Pepper fragrance for British perfume house Molton Brown in 2001, it became a by-word for iconic, luxury scents. Having grown from a small-scale artisanal operation to an international luxury brand—with a flagship store on Regent Street and a Royal Warrant for the supply of… Read
Asahi CEO bets on better tasting alcohol-free beers
Asahi Group Holdings’ Chief Executive Akiyoshi Koji is betting on alcohol-free beer to drive global profits in coming years, leveraging Japanese technology to improve the taste of the European brands it now owns. The Japanese brewer has bought Italy’s Peroni and Czech market leader Pilsner Urquell, among others, in recent… Read
Cloud cover: InCloud helps businesses implement IoT solutions
InCloud is a B2B technology company that is focused on bringing global cloud and IoT solutions to Japan. InCloud offers consulting and development services to help Japanese businesses properly implement cloud and IoT solutions, which include InCloud’s Project Hercules. Japan Today hears more from CEO Chris Baek. What's your background?… Read
Chat, phone, video and document-sharing in one app: AINEO does it all
In 1997, working out of a spare bedroom in his home in Saitama Prefecture, Spencer Wolfe started his company AINEO (Greek for praise), a consulting firm building contact centers (customer service centers) and dealing rooms. It was a risk as he had no customers, just some technical skill and an idea. But Wolfe persisted and… Read
Innovate and engage: James Feliciano leads AbbVie’s 5-year focus
Sometimes, taking the road less traveled leads to unexpected places. That was the case for AbbVie G.K. President and ACCJ Governor James Feliciano. In the 1980s, he thought Japan would be an interesting place to check out—what with the Japanese economic miracle and talk of Japan rising. He set out for a trip that… Read
Path finder: Machi Takahashi maps the interactive era
When entrepreneur Machi Takahashi made the transition from executive assistant to business development at a research institute, she could not have imagined the move would lead to her creating a spin-off company. Yet, as cofounder and co-CEO of Stroly, a free platform for sharing GPS-enabled designed maps, that is exactly what… Read
New Eli Lilly president making an impact
It was a desire to work with customers that first led Simone Thomsen to pursue a career in hotel management. And it was a love for things international that led her down a path in that industry to Japan. That she would find the combination of helping others and global… Read
Rui Nagamori empowers mothers through sustainable e-commerce models
Japanese entrepreneur Rui Nagamori never imagined that she would one day be a cofounder of a startup. After all, back in 2010, she was married and had only recently given birth to her son. So, the idea of starting a business—let alone a startup—was the last thing on her mind. But… Read
Lauren Kocher trades music for her own path
American Lauren Kocher is not the kind of person who backs away from a challenge. When it seemed she was set to climb the music industry’s corporate ladder, she stepped off, opened the startup parachute, and cofounded a company. Today, she is the chief operating officer at Zaiko PTE Ltd., which creates ticketing… Read
