As of June 28, 2019, Mr. Makoto Takano, Chairman and CEO of LinkTides, Inc., Editor-in-Chief of Forbes JAPAN, Founder and CEO of D4V (Design for Ventures), President and Representative Director of Sony Computer Science Laboratories, and Executive Officer of Sony Corporation. We would like to inform you that Mr. Hiroaki Kitano has been newly appointed as an outside director of our company.

With this appointment as an outside director, we will strengthen our corporate governance and work hard to further expand existing services and develop new services.

[New officer profile]

Mr. Makoto Takano

After joining Daiwa Securities in 1987, he was seconded to Daiwa Institute of Research and consistently worked in the field of research. Since 1991, he has been involved in developing asset management models with Harry Markowitz, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in the United States. In 1997, he moved to Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he served as head of marketing in the investment advisory division and head of the corporate planning and research department, before joining Pimco Japan Limited in 2001. Served as director and president for approximately 13 years. In 2014, he switched from finance to publishing and became CEO of Atomics Media Co., Ltd. (currently Link Tides Co., Ltd.) and editor-in-chief of Forbes JAPAN.From 2019, he became chairman of Link Tides Co., Ltd. and editor-in-chief of Forbes JAPAN. Since 2016, he has also served as Founder and CEO of D4V (Design for Ventures, a joint venture VC with IDEO). He is also a board member of GHV Accelerator, Endeavor Japan, Japan Venture Capital Association, United World College ISAK Japan, Asia Pacific Initiative, and Human Rights Watch. He has written many papers and books on capital markets in general, including contributing to a series of articles in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Winner of the 1992 Securities Analyst Journal Award. Graduated from Waseda University with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Engineering degree, and completed the master's program at Waseda University's Graduate School of Science and Engineering.

Mr. Hiroaki Kitano

After graduating from International Christian University, College of Liberal Arts, Department of Science (physics major) in 1984, he joined NEC Corporation and worked at the Software Production Technology Research Center. Since 1988, he has been a visiting researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. Obtained Ph.D. (Engineering) from Kyoto University in 1991. Joined Sony Computer Science Laboratories in 1993. Became Senior Researcher in 1996, Director and Deputy Director in 2002, Director and Director in 2008, and Representative Director and President in 2011. Became Corporate Executive Officer of Sony Corporation in 2016, and Corporate Executive Officer of Sony Corporation in 2018. From October 1998 to September 2003, concurrently served as General Manager of ERATO Kitano Symbiotic System Project, Japan Science and Technology Agency. From October 2003 to September 2008, a continuation project of the same project, Kitano Symbiotic System Project (ERATO-SORST), Japan Science and Technology Agency.
Research representative. In April 2001, he established the System Biology Research Institute, a non-profit organization, and serves as its chairman. He also serves as a professor at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, and as a founding trustee of the RoboCup International Committee. He has served as Group Director of the Disease Systems Modeling Research Group at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Biomedical Sciences, as well as a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo and Keio University. Computers and Thought Award (1993), Prix Ars Electronica (2000), JCD Design Award (Japan Commercial Environmental Designers Association) (1996), Japan Cultural Design Award (Japan Cultural Design Forum) (2001), Nature Mentor Award Mid-career Received the Career Award (2009). He has been invited to exhibit at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, etc.