Executive Leadership
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Board Director
Masato Serizawa
Masato joined SmartHR in 2016 and was appointed VPoE in 2017. While actively contributing to product development, he also took charge of team building and management for the engineering team. After assuming the role of CTO in 2019, he began focusing on optimizing the entire product development and operations team, aligning capacities with business requirements. He became a Board Director in 2020 and has served in his current position of CEO since January 2022.
Chief Operating Officer (COO), Board Director
Takafumi Kurahashi
Takafumi joined global consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 2008, where he focused on solving business management challenges for enterprise clients. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and joined Rakuten (now Rakuten Group) in 2012, where he worked directly under the CEO and was later appointed a CEO of an overseas subsidiary, driving business growth. He joined SmartHR in 2017 and assumed his current position of COO in January 2018.
Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Board Director
Yuji Mori
Yuji joined Rakuten (now Rakuten Group) in 2016, where he worked in the IR department, handling a variety of tasks including investor meetings, financial reporting, and shareholder meetings, as well as M&A and fundraising activities. Since joining SmartHR in March 2020, he has been responsible for financial strategy, including fundraising and capital planning policy, with a particular focus on international investors. He has held his current position of CFO since October 2023.
Founder, Board Director
Shoji Miyata
Shoji co-founded his first company with a friend in 2013. After more than 10 unsuccessful attempts over two years, he launched the cloud-based HR solution "SmartHR" in 2015. In 2017, the company rebranded to "SmartHR" as well, going on to raise 15.6 billion yen from foreign and domestic investors in 2021 and achieving unicorn status. In 2022, Shoji stepped down as CEO of SmartHR to found a new company, Nstock, with plans to address issues in the startup ecosystem that he himself encountered throughout his career. In 2024, Nstock successfully raised 3 billion yen from domestic and foreign investors.
Chief Product Officer (CPO)
Takashi Adachi
Takashi joined TeamLab in 2009, where he contributed to various client-driven development projects. In 2012, he co-founded Socket, a SaaS business which he later sold to the KDDI Group. Following that, Takashi worked at Mercari, before joining SmartHR in 2019. In 2020, he was appointed Executive Officer and VP of Product Management, where he has been driving product strategy and organizational development. In January 2024, he assumed his current position of CPO.
Outside Directors
Outside Director, Board Chair
Masatoshi Matsuzaki
Masatoshi joined Konishiroku Photo Industry (now KONICA MINOLTA) in 1976. After serving as Director and President & CEO at KONICA MINOLTA from 2009 and as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board from 2014, he later continued his involvement with the company as its ｖ. In addition to chairing the board of directors at LIXIL, he has also served as an outside director for several publicly listed companies. Masatoshi served as a director and vice chairperson at the Japan Association of Corporate Directors for 4 years from 2018 and is the author of The Revolution Begins at the Border (2015, TOYO KEIZAI). He frequently delivers lectures and provides interviews on corporate governance, business transformation, and other similar topics.
Outside Director
Masako Takeda
Masako currently serves as Senior Managing Executive Officer and CHRO at Members Inc. She began working at Seibu Credit (now Credit Saison) in 1989, where she held positions including Manager of Training Section for the Sales Promotion Division and Manager of the Strategic Human Resources Department. In 2014, she was appointed Director of Human Resources and, in 2016, she spearheaded organizational reforms as Head of Sales Promotion Division. She joined Calbee in 2018, and from 2019, served as Managing Executive Officer CHRO and Head of HR and General Affairs, leading initiatives in work style reform and cross-border strategies. In 2023, she assumed her current role, focusing on enhancing employee engagement in rapidly scaling organizations. She also serves as an outside director at Colopl.
Outside Director
Takafumi Murakami
As an expert in M&A, investment, fundraising, and investor relations at Goldman Sachs, Takafumi gained extensive experience in corporate actions and transformations of global companies. After leaving Goldman Sachs, he founded Signifiant and assumed the role of co-CEO, aiming to develop new industries for future generations with a focus on post-IPO startups. He is actively involved in the management of rapidly growing public and private technology companies as an investor, board member, and advisor, aiming to contribute to their growth. Takafumi also pioneered Japan’s first growth capital fund, promoting engagement activities centered around sustainability, social responsibility, and healthy governance through startup investments. He is the author of Sustainable Capitalism: How 5% of Thoughtful Consumption Can Change Society (2021, SHODENSHA).
Outside Director
Taro Fukuyama
In 2012, Taro founded Fond, a U.S.-based company offering a SaaS solution for employee benefits that serves clients including Salesforce, Facebook (now Meta), and Visa. The company received investments from Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, and DCM, and was acquired by Edenred in 2023. In 2024, he founded Rice Capital to invest in startups in both Japan and the U.S. He currently also serves as an outside director at Knowledge Work.
Audit & Supervisory Committee
Board Director, Full-Time Member of Audit & Supervisory Committee
Ryo Tamaki
Ryo joined Aarata Audit Corporation (now PwC Aarata) in 2007, where he handled statutory audits for publicly listed and multinational companies. He then transitioned to Yamada Business Consulting, where he provided business restructuring consulting services for Japanese companies. After that, he joined SAMURAI INCUBATE, focusing on seed-stage startup investments and fundraising. In 2017, he joined SmartHR and was appointed Board Director and CFO in January 2018. He had led corporate governance efforts and fundraising initiatives at the company before assuming his current position in October 2023.
Outside Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member
Shohei Onishi
Shohei is currently an LPC partner at Miura & Partners. After receiving a lawyer license in 2012, he worked at Yahoo Japan Corporation, later joining Sato Sogo Law Office. His main areas of practice include M&A, corporate governance, IPOs, crisis management, IT, and regulatory compliance. At SmartHR, he serves as a legal advisor for new business creation, working with companies ranging from startups to publicly listed companies. In addition to these roles, he also serves as an outside director at Wellness Communications, outside auditor at Kaminashi, and advisor to the Startup Ecosystem Tokyo Consortium. He has co-authored books, including Legal and Risk Management for Entrepreneurs: 26 Stories to Avoid Critical Failures (2024, Diamond Publishing) and Regulatory Compliance and Rule-Making for Corporate Legal Affairs: Negotiation Techniques and Case Studies to Propel Your Business (2022, GYOSEI).
Outside Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member
Aiko Mochizuki
Aiko currently serves as a Managing Director and Director/CFO at Industrial Growth Platform, Inc. (IGPI). She began her career at ChuoAoyama Audit Corporation, where she provided audit services. After joining IGPI, she has been involved in strategic planning and execution support for large corporations, focusing on business portfolio restructuring and new business creation. Her experience also includes due diligence and M&A advisory. In recent years, she has provided advice on the establishment and management of corporate venture capital (CVC) funds and has worked extensively on organizational design aimed at open innovation. She has supported numerous startups across a wide range of fields, from IT to science and technology, and across all phases, from their early stages to exit. She currently serves as an outside director and audit and supervisory committee member at Euglena and as an outside director at Nankai Electric Railway. She is also a certified public accountant (CPA).
