Panel Discussion presented in conjunction with Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (
SPRIE)
Topic: The Impact of Entrepreneurs in Asia on the Evolution of Global Technology Development
Moderated by
Dr. Richard Dasher, Director, US-ATMC
This panel will discuss how entrepreneurs contribute to the globalization of R&D and the development of
open innovation systems.
Panelists:
Dr. Shigeo Kagami
Professor and General Manager,
Science Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED),
Division of University Corporate Relations (DUCR), University of Tokyo
Prof. Kagami's responsibilities at the University of
Tokyo include entrepreneurship education, management of incubation
facilities for university start-ups, and relationship management with
The University of Tokyo Edge Capital. He was previously a
consultant at Boston Consulting Group (1982-1986), a founding partner of
Corporate Directions Inc. (CDI, 1986-1997), and Partner of Heidrick
& Struggles International (2000-2002) where he was in charge of
Board Practice in Japan.
Mr. Mike Alfant, President and CEO
Fusion Systems Inc. (Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong)
Mr. Alfant founded an IT solutions company named Fusion Systems Japan
in 1992, growing it into an multi-national firm and leading it to a $58
million acquisition by IMRGlobal in 1998. In 2000, he founded
Building2, a technology investment company in Tokyo and Boston in which
entrepreneurs invest energy and capital to growing a portfolio of
private companies. He re-acquired the name "Fusion Systems" and
re-established the firm in 2005 to serve a larger Asia-Pacific
community. Fusion Systems now has offices in Tokyo,
Shanghai, and Hong Kong; it provides services that range from high
level business process consulting to software development and
infrastructure design and implementation. Mr. Alfant is also
Chair of the Information, Communications, and Technology Committee of
the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Mr. Robert Eberhart, Fellow
SPRIE, Stanford
As a Research Fellow at SPRIE, Mr. Eberhart is investigating the role
of Japanese institutions in fostering entrepreneurship and also
comparative corporate governance. He is currently also a partner
of Actium Ventures LLC, a San Francisco-based private equity
firm. From 1999 - 2007, Mr. Eberhart served as CEO of
WineInStyle, a venture apital-funded start-up company in Japan that
introduced a disruptive business model into the commercial wine
distribution industry. Previously, he was President of the Japan
subsidiary of
Plantronics Inc., where before his promotion to Japan, he held
positions as the Director of Worldwide Quality and headed the
reliability testing functions at Plantronics.
