ABOUT

MANAGEMENT

• Eric Whiteway

  Representative Director, CEO

  Prior to founding Cogent Labs, Eric Whiteway was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley for 16 years where he led Risk Trading and Proprietary Algorithmic Trading in Japan. An alumnus of Columbia University, he studied Computer Science and Operations Research. Excited by the advances and prospects of Deep Learning and its potential applications, Eric founded Cogent Labs in 2014.

• Kyoji Kimoto

  Director, Senior Vice President

  Kyoji Kimoto has 20 years of experience in auditing, financial consulting and corporate investment, including a tenure at Deloitte Tohmatsu FAS and Deutsche Securities, as well as founding a financial advisory business. Since becoming independent, he has provided support and consulting services for numerous IPOs and has managed more than 50 M&A deals up to date, and has diverse knowledge in finance and management. He has been an auditor of Cogent Labs since 2016, a Director and CFO since 2018, and Now Director, Senior Vice President in February 2021.

• Min Suk Song

  Director, Senior Vice President

  Min Suk Song previously worked at Samsung Electronics for 17 years, leading various AI R&D projects as Principal Engineer, and utilizing advanced academic research in practical and scalable commercial services. He holds a MS (Master of Science) in Computer Science from Columbia University as well as a MBA (Master of Business Administration) from Indiana University.

• Henry Yang

  Director

  After graduating from university, Henry Yang was involved in the real estate and aviation businesses in Asia, and has an extensive network and industry expertise. Henry joined Cogent Labs as Director in July 2016, and in addition to implementing fundraising with financial institutions and global investors, he also promotes collaboration.

• Shigeru Matsuura

  Outside Director

  After graduating from Faculty of Economics at Keio University in 1975, Shigeru Matsuura joined Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd. (currently Mizuho Bank), where he held positions as Branch Manager of Nihonbashi Branch, Lottery Manager, and full-time Audit & Supervisory Board Member. Later in his career, he moved on to lead multiple businesses as Senior Managing Director and Executive Vice President at a number of corporations such as UC Card Co., Ltd. and Japan Hades Co., Ltd. He joined Cogent Labs as Outside director in September 2020.

• Shinji Komiyama

  Audit & Supervisory Board Member

  Shinji Komiyama joined The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. (currently MUFG Bank, Ltd.) in 1981. After gaining experience in overseas loan business in Tokyo and London, he engaged in extensive auditing and compliance work for over 7 years. In 2012, he moved to Citibank Japan Ltd. (integrated into SMBC Trust Bank Ltd. in 2015) as Program Director of Internal Audit and played a leading role in the internal audit team for more than 4 years thereafter. He joined Cogent Labs as Audit & Supervisory Board Member in June 2022.

• Aki Kondo

  Audit & Supervisory Board Member

  Akatsuki Kondo was registered as a lawyer in 2007. After working at a law firm in Tokyo for about seven years, he opened his own law firm, Akatsuki Kondo & Associates, in 2014. He has been active in a wide range of fields, including general corporate matters, IT/internet, intellectual property , labor cases, real estate cases, debt collection, business restructuring and bankruptcy. His main focus has been on consumer law-related matters (Consumer Contract Act, Installment Sales Act, Specified Commercial Transactions Act, Act Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, PL Act, Personal Information Protection Act, etc.). He was appointed as an Audit & Supervisory Board Member of Cogent Labs in March 2018.

• Mamoru Yamamoto

  Audit & Supervisory Board Member

  In 1981, Mamoru Yamamoto joined the Tokyo Office of Auditing Firm Asahi Accounting Corporation (now KPMG AZSA LLC). He has worked with a wide range of companies, from startups to global enterprises, on accounting audits, business restructuring, IPOs, M&A, and internal controls, and was appointed partner in 1995. In 2018, he established Nihonbashi Accounting Service Inc. and assumed the position of President and Representative Director. He was appointed as an Audit & Supervisory Board Member of Cogent Labs in June 2019.

• Thierry Sousbie

  Senior Vice President, CTO

  Thierry holds a MS in engineering, a MS in theoretical physics and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon. He worked at CNRS for 6 years and at the University of Tokyo as an invited researcher. He has co-authored 32 peer reviewed scientific articles (with more than 3400 citations) in the domain of applied mathematics, high performance computing applied to numerical simulations in cosmology as well as image analysis. Thierry joined Cogent Labs in 2017. He was appointed as Executive Officer and Vice President in June 2022, and promoted to Senior Vice President, CTO in June 2023.

• Tokio Otsuka

  Senior Vice President, Solution Engineering

  At Canon Marketing Japan, Tokio Otsuka led business as Product Manager of various business applications. At Canon IT Solutions, he has held several leadership positions, including head of the development and business division for the software product line. He has over 35 years of experience in the IT solutions business in Japan and the U.S.,including experience in research business in the US bay area and as Vice President of IT companies in New York, and joined Cogent Labs in November 2020, where he was appointed as Senior Vice President in February 2021.

• Shigemasa Shibata

  Vice President, Executive Engagement & Strategic Relations

  In 1978, Shigemasa Shibata joined Toyota Tsusho Corporation, and after moving to New York, joined Sumitomo Trust and Banking (now Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited) in 1989, where he was in charge of corporate sales. In 2007, he became Customer Group Information Development Officer, Deputy Director of Customer Group Private Banking and Investment Sales, and Deputy Executive Officer of Customer Group Products. From 2012, as a Senior Director of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, he was responsible for providing complete solutions across SMTB's business divisions. He had been an Advisor of Cogent since February 2020, and was appointed Vice President of Sales in April 2021.Also appointed Vice President, Executive Engagement & Strategic Relations in November 2023.

• Kayra Alat

  Vice President, Product Engineering

  Kayra Alat has over a decade of experience in technical leadership, specializing in building large-scale web products and services. He has worked in various startups and AI companies, leading cross-functional teams, driving technical innovation, and optimizing product delivery processes. Passionate about developing impactful products, mentorship, and fostering a collaborative engineering culture, Kayra joined Cogent Labs in 2021 and was promoted to Vice President of Product Engineering in September 2024. He holds a BSc in Computing from Bournemouth University.

• David Malkin

  Vice President, Strategy

  David, a Computer Science MSc and PhD holder from University College London, transitioned from academia to finance, developing high-frequency trading algorithms using machine learning. Anticipating machine learning's industry-wide impact, he founded an AI consulting firm to aid companies in embracing ML technologies. In 2015, he joined Cogent Labs, where he worked on integrating emerging tech into product development. A regular speaker at events, David shares his insights on AI's evolving role in business and Japan's innovation future.

• Atsushi Hayashi

  Vice President, Finance & Operations

  After graduating from university, joined Sumitomo Trust and Banking (now Sumitomo Mitsui Trust). Involved in corporate sales and planning, pension and other asset management businesses, and after the Lehman shock in 2008, he reconstructed the Private asset management business model and led it to become the No. 1 bank in Japan. After that, he moved to the Wealth management business, launched a collaborative business with the Swiss private bank UBS and served as president of a marketing company, and joined Cogent in April 2023.

• Keiji Torii

  Advisor

  After joining Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd. (currently Mizuho Bank) in 1971, Keiji Torii studied at business schools in London and Switzerland, earning an MBA. He has held a number of important positions, including Managing Director of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd. from 2000, Representative Director & Deputy President of Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. from 2004, and Director & Deputy President of Mizuho Information & Research Institute, Inc. from 2005. He has also served as Audit & Supervisory Board Member of ITOCHU Corporation and Director Board Member of Tokyo Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ltd., and as Executive Advisor to Salesforce.Com. Torii joined Cogent Labs as Audit & Supervisory Board Member in March 2019, and assumed a position of Advisor in July 2022.