Toshihiko Fukui
President, The Canon Institute for Global Studies

Born in Osaka on September 7, 1935, Mr. Fukui graduated with an LL.B. from the University of Tokyo in March 1958 and joined the Bank of Japan in April of the same year. From April 1970 he spent two years as Bank of Japan representative in Paris. Mr. Fukui was appointed as Director and Head of the Planning Division, Coordination and Planning Department in May 1977, as General Manager of the Takamatsu Branch in March 1980, and as Deputy General Manager of the Osaka Branch in August 1981. This was followed by appointments as First Deputy Director-General of the Coordination and Planning Department in January 1983, First Deputy Director-General of the Personnel Department in May 1984, Director-General of the Research and Statistics Department in October 1985, Director-General of the Banking Department in September 1986, and Director-General of the Policy Planning Department in May 1989. In September 1989 Mr. Fukui was appointed as an Executive Director of the Bank of Japan, and served as Deputy Governor from December 1994 to March 1998. He became Chairman of the Fujitsu Research Institute in November 1998 and Vice Chairperson of Keizai Doyukai (the Japan Association of Corporate Executives) in April 2001, before being appointed as Governor of the Bank of Japan in March 2003. Mr. Fukui retired from the Bank of Japan in March 2008 and took up his present post as President of the Canon Institute for Global Studies in December of the same year.

 

Ryutaro Hatanaka
Commissioner, Financial Services Agency

Ryutaro Hatanaka was appointed Commissioner of the Financial Services Agency, Government of Japan (FSA) in August 2011. Before this appointment, he held a number of positions at FSA, including Director-General of the Supervisory Bureau and the Inspection Bureau. Prior to these roles, he served as Director of the Debt Management Division and Overall Coordination Division at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) from 2000. In 1998, he became a Director of the Financial Planning Bureau, responsible for maintaining financial stability amid growing anxiety about the Japanese financial system. Prior to this, he held positions in the Tax Bureau, Finance Bureau and Banking Bureau of the MOF. In 1981, he became Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan in Argentina, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He joined the MOF in 1976. He graduated with a degree in law from The University of Tokyo in 1976. In 1994, he was a visiting scholar at Princeton University.

 

Keiichi Ozawa
Vice-Minister for Land and Hokkaido Development,
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

1976Graduated from the University of Tokyo (Bachelor of Law), and entered Construction Ministry
2003-2004Director of Personnel Division
2004-2006Deputy Director-General, Civil Aviation Bureau
2006-2007Deputy Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, Minister’s Secretariat
2007-2008Director-General, Land and Water Bureau
2008-2010Deputy Vice-Minister for Construction, Engineering and Real Estate Industry
2010-2011Deputy Vice-Minister, Minister’s Secretariat
2011-Present Post

 

Atsushi Saito
President & CEO, Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Inc.
President & CEO, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.

Born in October 1939 in Kumamoto prefecture, Mr. Saito graduated from Keio University in 1963 then went on to work at Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. for 35 years. During that time he was stationed twice in New York for a total of 10 years, and in 1986 he was appointed as a member of the board. At Nomura, Mr. Saito worked in Treasury and Fixed Income Dealing and several other divisions, overseeing operations in a broad range of areas from treasury to legal affairs. During his tenure here he served as Deputy President and in many other executive roles.

While in New York in the latter half of the 1980's, Mr. Saito was actively involved in the securitization of non-performing loans, real estate and commodities, as well as the development and sale of index funds and other products.

He has also committed his efforts to the liberalization of financial services in Japan, participating in the planning of the Japanese financial "Big Bang" policy promoted by the Hashimoto cabinet by acting as a member of several governmental deliberation councils.

After retiring from Nomura, Mr. Saito served successively as President, then Chairman of Sumitomo Life Investment Co., Ltd., where he participated in company administration and the management of 10 trillion yen in pension capital.

In April of 2003, Mr. Saito became president of the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan – a part of the government's financial revitalization project – where he engaged in many revitalization support programs. While at this corporation, he played a significant role in the resolution of the country's non-performing loan problem, and blazed a trail for corporate restructuring in the future.

Mr. Saito was appointed President and CEO of Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. in June of 2007, and in August of the same year became the first President and CEO of Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Inc., the holding company for the market operation company and the self-regulation corporation, where he has been devoting himself to strengthen the international competitiveness of Japan's financial markets.

 

Steven A. Wechsler
President and Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT)

Steven A. Wechsler is president and chief executive officer of NAREIT (National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts), the worldwide representative voice for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies with an interest in U.S. real estate and capital markets. In this capacity, Mr. Wechsler is a leading advocate of the REIT approach to real estate investment. He oversees NAREIT’s operations, engages leading policymakers on critical issues affecting REITs and real estate investment, and interacts widely with the investment community. NAREIT’s members are REITs and other businesses throughout the world that own, operate and finance income-producing real estate, as well as those firms and individuals who advise, study and service those businesses.

Mr. Wechsler also serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Financing & Capital and as an Executive Committee Member of the American Council on Capital Formation.

 

Peter Mitchell
Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA)

Peter is the Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA).

APREA is a non-profit trade association which represents and promotes the real estate asset class in the Asia Pacific region. It is headquartered in Singapore and with member chapters and country boards in Japan, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

It enjoys close relationships with all major regional and national real estate bodies. It has over 180 members (from Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, the Middle East, US and Europe, amongst others). Members come from real estate companies, REITs, private funds, institutional investors and investment banks, amongst others.

Peter holds degrees in economics and law.

He has lived in Singapore for 12 years.

 

Philip W.Charls
Chief Executive Officer, European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA)

Philip started out his career as a lawyer specializing in European Competition Law. Moving to ING for almost 25 years working both sides of the Atlantic in the highest management capacities, Philip’s experience took him to the Brussels-based Dutch Chamber of Commerce for Belgium and Luxembourg as General Manager. He then joined EPRA as CEO in September 2007.

 

Peter Verwer
Chief Executive, Property Council of Australia (PCA)

Peter Verwer is Chief Executive of the Property Council Australia, which is the nation’s leading advocate for the $670 billion investment property industry.

As well as pursuing its core business of advocacy and public affairs, the Property Council operates learning, research, publishing and networking businesses.

Peter’s current political priorities are tax modernisation, sustainability, finance and regulatory reform.

Peter is a member of many public and private sector bodies, including:

  • Chair – Livable Housing Australia;
  • Chair - Construction Forecasting Council;
  • Chair – NCTC-MGAG Business Advisory Group;
  • Australian Statistics Advisory Council;
  • Australian Construction Industry Forum;
  • Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council;
  • Business Coalition for Tax Reform;
  • Green Building Council of Australia; and,
  • Investment Property Databank Australia.

The Property Council employs 97 people around the country and generates annual revenues of $26 million.

The Federal Government has appointed Peter one of six Disability Community Leaders. He is also a Life Fellow of the Green Building Council of Australia, an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

 

Ichiro Makijima
Executive Managing Director, The Association for Real Estate Securitization (ARES)

Ichiro Makijima started his career at Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. in 1974, and was engaged in various commercial real estate development businesses. Prior to joining the Council for Real Estate Syndication (a predecessor of ARES) in 2001 as Secretary General, he was General Manager of the Nihonbashi Projects Planning Group of the Office Building Portfolio Management Department. He has been serving his current position at ARES since its establishment in December 2002.

Ichiro also serves as a committee member of commercial real-estate appraisals of the National Land Development Council, and a Director of the Japan Investment Advisers Association and The Japan Association for Property Assessment Policy.

He holds B.A. from The University of Tokyo, is an ARES Certified Master, and a fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

 

Yuichiro Kawaguchi    < Moderator >
Professor
Graduate School of Finance, Accounting and Law
Waseda University

Doctorate in engineering, the University of Tokyo, 1991. Following a visiting fellowship in the Department of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge in the UK in 1996, appointed as professor in the Department of Real Estate Sciences at Meikai University in 1999. Responsible for Real Estate Finance Course in the Waseda University Graduate School of Finance, Accounting and Law since 2004.

Engaged in research and teaching with academic and industry researchers aimed at perfecting real estate financial engineering. Chairman of the Japanese Association of Real Estate Financial Engineering since 2004. Director of the Institute of International Real Estate Studies since 2007. Chairman of the Japan Association of Real Options and Strategy. Director of  Waseda Institute of Finance in 2011. President of the Asian Real Estate Society in 2012.

Major publications include “Real Estate Financial Engineering”. Seibunsha, 2001, “Real Estate Financial Engineering”, an Introduction. Diamond, 2001, and “Real Option Concepts and Techniques” Diamond, 2004. "Real estate economics" Seibunsha (forthcoming  in 2012) .Supervised translation of "More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places" Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., 2007.

 

François Trausch
CEO, GE Capital Real Estate, Asia Pacific
President & CEO, GE Capital Real Estate Japan

François Trausch is CEO of GE Capital  Real Estate Asia Pacific. François was appointed to this role in April 2010. Recently he was also appointed President & CEO, GE Capital   Real Estate Japan.  He leads all of GE Capital Real Estate’s activities  – comprising lending and investing - across the Asian Markets and is based in Tokyo. François is a seasoned business leader with deep local Real Estate knowledge earned primarily in Europe. He joined the GE Real Estate  team in July 1996 and worked on various portfolio acquisitions as well as “public-to-private”. His subsequent assignments included head  of the European acquisition team, European risk leader, senior investment officer. In 2003 he was appointed managing director in charge of GE Capital  Real Estate France. Finally in 2008 he was appointed head of Western Europe  covering France, Germany,  Spain and Italy.  Before he began his GE career, François worked for Goldman Sachs in London, and Tishman Speyer in New York and Berlin. He spent part of his early professional career in Japan. He holds a business degree from ESCP Europe (Paris) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

Scott Callon
Chairman and Representative Statutory Executive Officer
Ichigo Group Holdings Co., Ltd.

Scott Callon is Chairman and Representative Statutory Executive Officer of Ichigo Group Holdings Co. Ltd. (2337), a JASDAQ-listed Japanese real estate asset manager that is the manager of the Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Ichigo REIT (8975).

Callon is also Chief Executive Officer of Ichigo Asset Management, Ltd., a long-term, high-commitment Japanese value investment manager; a statutory auditor of Chiyoda Co., Ltd. (8185), Japan’s largest shoe retailer; and a board member of CITIC International Assets Management Limited, a group company of CITIC, a Chinese government institution that is one of the largest financial groups in China.

Callon serves as a board member of the Japan Corporate Governance Network and the Japan Association of Corporate Directors, and is one of three judges (and the only foreigner) appointed by the Tokyo Stock Exchange for its annual Corporate Value Improvement Award, awarded to Japan’s top company in corporate value creation.

Previously, Callon was Managing Director, Head of Equities, and member of the Executive Committee of Morgan Stanley Japan; Chairman of the Foreign Securities Council of the Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA); and Chief Executive Officer of PCA Asset Management of the UK Prudential Group.

Callon graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University in 1986 (Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude (highest honors)), and has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. He is the author of Divided Sun: MITI and the Breakdown of Japanese High-Tech Industrial Policy, 1975-1993, winner of the Arisawa Prize. (“Callon's findings are extraordinary... It is essential for anyone trying to get a little closer to the core of what makes Japan tick.” Japan Times). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Callon has lived in Japan for 23 years and is fluent in spoken and written Japanese.

 

Kenneth M. Curtis
Former Managing Director, MGPA Japan LLC

Ken Curtis has over 20 years experience in real estate fund management and private equity investment, with special focus on the Japanese market. In June 2012, Mr Curtis retired as Managing Director at MGPA Japan where he was Fund Manager of the MGPA Japan Core Plus Fund and responsible for the investment management of the Fund with total assets of JPY133 billion (USD1.7billion)

Prior to joining MGPA, Ken worked for Secured Capital Corp as a Managing Director and established the Japanese operations for the company. In this role Ken was responsible for underwriting and acquiring distressed real estate assets and non-performing loans primarily from Japanese clients.

Ken has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and East Asian Studies from Colby College, Maine, and a Masters of Business Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

Charles W. Haase, Ph.D.    
Managing Director, Tokyu Livable, Inc.

Charles Haase joined the Real Solutions Department of Tokyu Livable, Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan, in April of 2012. There he is part of a new globally oriented business development team, formed to offer real estate services and investment management to overseas clients.  Prior to joining Tokyu Livable, Mr. Haase spent eight years as a Real Estate Investment Officer for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.  At CalSTRS, Mr. Haase shared joint responsibility for real estate fund investments in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America, as well as CalSTRS’ direct U.S. multifamily portfolio of more than 50,000 units. Prior to joining CalSTRS, Mr. Haase was an Assistant Professor of Economics at San Francisco State University, and a Visiting Lecturer in Economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. Haase holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Davis.

 

Takahiro Moriguchi    < Moderator >
Chairman, JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd.

Takahiro Moriguchi joined The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. in 1967.  After an assignment in New York, in 1988, he became President and Managing Director of Bank of Tokyo Capital Markets in London.  In 1992, he returned to the Head Office of BOT to assume the position of General Manager of the Capital Markets Division.  After several assignments, in May 1997, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of California.  In May 2003, he assumed the position of Deputy President / Chief Executive of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.  Prior to joining JPMorgan, he served as the Advisor to the President of the Bank for International Affairs.  In Feb 2006, he joined JPMorgan and became Chairman and CEO in July of the same year.  As from Sept 2007, he presently serves as Chairman.  He also holds positions of a member of the board of the Association for Real Estate Securitization, and member of “Securities Strategy Board” of Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA).

Takahiro Moriguchi has been educated at the Kobe University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

 

Norihiro Takahashi
Senior Managing Director, The Norinchukin Bank

April 1980 Graduated from the University of Tokyo (B.A. Laws), and joined The Norinchukin Bank
July 1999 General Manager, Nagasaki Br.
July 2001 Joint General Manager, Financial Planning & Control Div.
June 2003 Joint General Manager, Corporate Planning Div.
June 2005 General Manager, Fixed Income Investment Div.
June 2006 General Manager, Credit & Alternative Investment Div.
June 2007 Managing Director, Member of the Board
June 2011 Senior Managing Director, Member of the Board
 

Hiroshi Asai 
Executive Managing Director, Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Mr. Asai joined Mitsui Fudosan after graduating from Hitotsubashi University with a Bachelor of Social Sciences in 1976. As head of the Real Estate Securitization Promotion Department from 1999, he helped to lay the foundations for a real estate securitization market in Japan through involvement in reform of the Act on Investment Trusts and Investment Corporations and the Act on Securitization of Specific Assets by Special Purpose Companies, establishment of J-REIT, and formation of many private real estate funds. Following appointments as General Manager of the Accounting and Finance Department in 2003 and Managing Officer (concurrently with the former appointment) in 2005, Mr. Asai became a Group Officer and President and Chief Executive Officer of Mitsui Fudosan Investment Advisors, Inc. in April 2008. In this role he focused on managing assets for institutional investors including pension funds and life insurance companies, and on forming new funds. In April 2011 he was appointed as a member of the Mitsui Fudosan board, and in June of the same year he took up his present posts of Executive Managing Director and Executive Managing Officer.

 

Motoo Matsumiya 
Chief Economist & General Manager, Economic Research Office, Corporate Planning Division, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

Motoo Matsumiya graduated from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University in 1987. That same year he joined The Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. (today’s The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.) where he worked at the Research Division, Office of Chairman of Japanese Bankers Association, Corporate Banking Division No.3, and Public Relations Office. From 2004, he was in charge of strategic planning for the retail banking business as the Chief Manager of the Retail Banking Planning Office. Starting in 2007, Mr. Matsumiya was involved in preparations to set up a mobile net bank as General Manager of the Corporate Planning Division of the Mobile Net Bank Establishment Investigation Corporation. These preparations involved acquiring a banking license. With the launch of Jibun Bank Corporation in 2008, Mr. Matsumiya became Executive Officer, Chief Executive of Corporate Planning Unit of the bank. From 2009, as Chief Manager of Strategic Alliance Office at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., he was involved in creating a framework for MUFG’s strategic alliance with Morgan Stanley. He assumed his current position in 2011.

 

Ryoji Musha 
President, Musha Research Co., Ltd.

Ryoji Musha is President of Musha Research Co., Ltd. He is also Advisor of Deutsche Securities Inc. and Deutsche Asset Management (Japan) Ltd. He is visiting Profesor at Saitama University Graduate School.

Mr. Musha was Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Advisor of Deutsche Securities from May 2005 to June 2009. He joined Deutsche Securities as General Manager and Chief Strategist in January 1997. Prior to joining Deutsche Securities, Mr. Musha was Chief Analyst and General Manager at Equity Research Department of Daiwa Institute of Research (DIR) Japan. He also worked as Chief Analyst and Research Director of DIR America for 5 years. He started his career at Daiwa Securities as Sector Analyst for the Textiles, Construction, Real Estate, Autos and Electronics sectors in March 1973. Mr. Musha holds a BA in Economics from Yokohama National University.

Mr. Musha is the author of 'End of The Lost Two Decades - Japan Economic Analysis based on Geopolitics', 'A Study of New Imperialism' and 'The Revitalization of American Capitalism'.

 

Yuta Seki    < Moderator >
Managing Director, Research, Nomura Institute of Capital Markets Research

In 1990, Yuta Seki joined Nomura Research Institute (NRI) and took a role in consulting services in finance and management fields. In 1999, he took a role of researching on management of financial institutions, asset management, and business of investment banking sector. In January 2004, he was appointed as senior researcher of NRI in the US, and as a head of New York office after an establishment of NICMR in New York. For seven years after the establishment, he was responsible for researching US financial regulations, changes in US financial businesses, financial turmoil and financial/monetary policies before/after a bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Since April 2011, he has been taking the current position.

In 2003, he was a visiting associate professor at Kwansei Gakuin University. He has published many reports and books. He graduated Keio University in 1990. And he holds an MBA from the South California University, Marshall School of Business in 1999.

 

Jonathan Yap
Group Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Funds, Ascendas
Chief Executive Officer, India, Ascendas

Jonathan is Ascendas’ Group Assistant CEO, Funds, overseeing its existing non-Singapore focused funds and the development of its fund management business. He is concurrently CEO, India. This entails managing Ascendas’ India focused funds, being Ascendas India Trust (listed on Singapore Stock Exchange) and Ascendas India Development Trust, and having a geographical oversight of Ascendas’ business and investment in India.

Until May 2007, Jonathan served as CEO, India Operations where he managed Ascendas’ business in India, which included the development and management of an IT Park portfolio across several key Indian cities, the Ascendas India IT Park Trust and the Group’s expansion in this key market.

Prior to joining Ascendas, Jonathan was with the Australian Stock Exchange-listed Lend Lease Corporation from 1997 to early 2004. His last concurrently held positions were Investment Director and Deputy Fund Manager of Asia Pacific Investment Company I and II. During his term, he was based in Singapore and Australia, and held various regional responsibilities in investment, asset and development management roles.

From 1992 to 1997, Jonathan was with Tan Chong Realty (the real estate arm of Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed Tan Chong Group) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, having held positions in asset management, property development and valuation.

In total, Jonathan has more than 20 years of real estate experience.

 

Hiroshi Katayama
CEO and President, Japan Real Estate Asset Management Co., Ltd.

Hiroshi Katayama graduated from the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University and joined Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. in 1981. He started his career at the Finance and Accounting Department and was stationed twice in New York.

After returning to Japan in 2005, he was engaged in the real estate development projects at Commercial Property Development & Investment Department of the company. From 2008, he supervised the real estate fund business of the Mitsubishi Estate Group as the general manager of the Investment Management Office.

Mr. Katayama assumed his current position in April 2010. In addition, he was appointed as an executive officer of Mitsubishi Estate in April 2012. He also holds positions of executive director at the Investment Trusts Association of Japan, and a member of the board of the Association for Real Estate Securitization.

 

Nicholas McGrath
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT Management Limited

Mr McGrath was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT Management Limited, the manager of SGX listed AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT (SGX: AIMSAMPIReit; O5RU), in January 2009. As the CEO, Mr McGrath is responsible for the overall planning, management and operation of the REIT. He works closely with the Board of Directors to determine business strategies for the strategic development of the REIT.

Prior to joining the Manager, Mr McGrath was the Chief Executive Officer of SGX listed Allco Commercial REIT (now known as Frasers Commercial Trust) and Managing Director of Allco (Singapore) Limited. Mr McGrath moved to Singapore in 2005 to establish Allco's real estate funds management business and was responsible for growing assets under management in excess of $2 billion. Prior to that, he spent over five years with Allco Finance Group in a range of senior executive roles in its property funds management and structured finance divisions. Before joining Allco Finance Group, Mr McGrath was a lawyer at a leading Australian law firm, Blake Dawson (now known as Ashurst).

 

Hubert Chak
Director, Corporate Development, The Link Management Limited

Mr. Hubert Chak, joined The Link Management Limited, the manager of The Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT") in June 2010 and is responsible for the formulation of corporate development strategy of The Link REIT with a holistic view of the current property portfolio and investment opportunities. He also oversees the investor relations function of The Link REIT and is one of the responsible officers of The Link REIT for the purpose of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Ordinance. Before joining the Link REIT, he was the Group Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of Hong Kong listed CSI Properties Limited. Mr. Chak held various senior management positions at PCCW Limited between 1999 and 2007 and was an executive director of Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited until February 2007.

 

Michael R. Grupe
Executive Vice President, Research & Investor Outreach
The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts

Michael R. Grupe is Executive Vice President for Research and Investor Outreach at The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). NAREIT is the representative voice for real estate investment trusts (REITs) and publicly traded real estate companies worldwide with an interest in U.S. real estate and capital markets. At NAREIT, he directs all research and investor outreach activities related to the collection and distribution of statistics with respect to industry growth and development, analysis of real estate investment performance and the role of REITs in diversified investment portfolios. He also oversees the communication of investment research with investors, policymakers, the media and the public, as well as the management of the FTSE NAREIT US Real Estate Index and the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index in conjunction with FTSE Group (London) and the European Public Real Estate Association (Brussels).

Before joining NAREIT, Michael was Chief of Mortgage and Consumer Finance in the Division of Research & Statistics at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC. Prior to his position at the Fed, Michael was senior vice president for mortgage-backed securities research at the investment banking firm of Kidder, Peabody & Company in New York.

Michael also teaches a course on real estate investment trusts at the Georgetown University Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate Program in the School of Continuing Studies.

Michael earned his Ph.D. degree in business-statistics from The University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the American Real Estate Society and the Advisory Board of the Real Estate Research Institute.

 

Fraser Hughes
Director - Research, Indices & Investor Outreach,
European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA)

Fraser Hughes is Research Director at EPRA. He held a number of investment-related positions in the City of London before relocating to the Netherlands. He holds an MSc in Investment Management and a BA in Finance. He is a regular speaker at real estate related conferences and writes for a broad range of publications. He joined EPRA in 2001.

 

Koji Sawada
Senior Researcher, Research & Analysis Dept., The Association for Real Estate Securitization (ARES)

Koji Sawada graduated from Hitotsubashi University (BA in Commerce) and completed a Master course at Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy (ICS), Hitotsubashi University (MBA in Finance).
He joined ARES in 2003 and has been engaged in researching and analyzing activities such as researching on the Japanese real-estate securitization market, editing of Real-Estate Securitization Handbook, and developing the AJPI which is a Japanese real estate investment index based on the method of NCREIF in the US. He has been in the current position since July 2008.

He is an ARES Certified Master (ACM) and a Chartered Member of The Security Analysts Association of Japan (CMA).

He has issued papers such as "Event Study on J-REITs' return", Kazuhiko Ohashi and Koji Sawada, 2003, the 35th research report of Policy Research Institute for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (PRILIT); "Price Discovery in the Japanese REIT market", Koji Sawada, 2006, ARES Journal 1st edition; "The Transition and Future Outlook of the J-REIT Market which has been created in the wake of the Transformation of Market Structure", Koji Sawada 2011, Vol.53, No.4 Real Estate Research (Quarterly Journal )of Japan Real Estate Institute (JREI).

He has translated jointly some English books into Japanese such as "Investors and Markets: Portfolio Choices, Asset Prices, and Investment Advice", William F. Sharpe, Princeton Lectures in Finance, 2006.

 

Michael R. Grupe
Executive Vice President, Research & Investor Outreach
The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts

Michael R. Grupe is Executive Vice President for Research and Investor Outreach at The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). NAREIT is the representative voice for real estate investment trusts (REITs) and publicly traded real estate companies worldwide with an interest in U.S. real estate and capital markets. At NAREIT, he directs all research and investor outreach activities related to the collection and distribution of statistics with respect to industry growth and development, analysis of real estate investment performance and the role of REITs in diversified investment portfolios. He also oversees the communication of investment research with investors, policymakers, the media and the public, as well as the management of the FTSE NAREIT US Real Estate Index and the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index in conjunction with FTSE Group (London) and the European Public Real Estate Association (Brussels).

Before joining NAREIT, Michael was Chief of Mortgage and Consumer Finance in the Division of Research & Statistics at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC. Prior to his position at the Fed, Michael was senior vice president for mortgage-backed securities research at the investment banking firm of Kidder, Peabody & Company in New York.

Michael also teaches a course on real estate investment trusts at the Georgetown University Master of Professional Studies in Real Estate Program in the School of Continuing Studies.

Michael earned his Ph.D. degree in business-statistics from The University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the American Real Estate Society and the Advisory Board of the Real Estate Research Institute.

 

Noboru Yamaguchi    < Moderator >
Senior Executive Advisor, Fiduciary Service Research Center,
Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.

Mr. Yamaguchi worked for Japan Travel Bureau Inc. (JTB) for 39 years after graduating from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1966. During his tenure at JTB, Mr. Yamaguchi was assigned in London and New York offices for more than 11 years, and he served as Executive Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer of JTB Pension Fund for 8 years until his retirement from JTB in 2005. In 2006, he served as Senior Advisor at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Co., Ltd. Japan. In January 2007, he joined Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. as Senior Executive Advisor. He served as chairman of the Corporate Pension Network of Japan for 3 years from 2002 and is currently senior advisor. He was appointed as Councilor of PFA in 2005. He is a member of International Advisory Board of the Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia University.

 

Nobuji Kawahara
President, Toshiba Pension Fund

Nobuji Kawahara joined Toshiba Corporation in 1980. After servicing in Finance & Accounting Divisions, he was engaged in asset management operations for Toshiba Pension Fund from June 1997, before becoming managing director of the fund in 2007.He has been in his current position since june 2009. He co-translated "Pioneering Portfolio Management" into Japanese ,which was published in 2003 from Kinzai Institute for Financial Affairs, Inc. He is also a co-author of "Jitsumuka ga Kataru Nenkin Kikin Shisan Unyo Sodanshitsu (Counseling by Pension Fund Management Practioners)"published in 2005 from Toyo Keizai Inc.

 

Tomoko Igarashi
Senior Investment Officer, KDDI Pension Fund

Tomoko Igarashi, CMA/Securities Analyst, joined Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co. Ltd., (Currently KDDI CORPORATION) in 1986.  She is responsible for managing asset allocation and was appointed to the current position in April 2012.  Prior to joining the investment team in 2009, she worked at the company’s corporate sales, financial, international, executive secretariat, and investor relations department.  She passed the US CPA exam.

 

Eiji Enomoto
Executive Vice President & COO, Nomura Real Estate Asset Management

Mr. Enomoto is Executive Vice President & COO of Nomura Real Estate Asset Management Co., Ltd. He was named to this position in 2011. Previously, he served as Nomura Real Estate Development’s Executive Director. Mr. Enomoto joined Nomura Real Estate Development in 1985 and experienced several positions including accounting, product development and business planning.

Since 1990, he was extensive experience leading the investment management business of the company. He was one of the founding members of the company’s first investment management business launched in the form of a joint venture with a major U.S. pension fund to invest in the U.S. real estate in 1990. In 1997, he was also one of the core members of investment business for Japanese real estate investments.

In 2011, he was involved in establishment of Nomura Real Estate Investment Management end was responsible for “JOFI” series, the first private real estate opportunity funds launched by the Japanese asset management company.

After that assignment, he was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of Nomura Real Estate Investment Management in 2004. He was responsible for the private core funds, “SMILE” series.

In 2005, he was one of the key members of establishment of Nomura Real Estate Capital Management and launched the real estate securitizes product investment business.

In 2010, Mr. Enomoto led the company to launch the first non-listed open-ended REIT in Japan.

Mr. Enomoto is a licensed real estate broker, a real estate consultant, a member of Japan’s Real Estate Appraisal Association and a chartered member of the Security Analyst Association of Japan.  He received a BA in economics from Keio University.

 

Koichiro "Ko" Maeda    < Moderator >
Representative Director and Managing Director, Portfolio Management
Prudential Real Estate Investors Japan K.K.

Koichiro has been with Prudential Real Estate Investors Japan working on business development and portfolio management since May 2011. Before joining Prudential, he worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, where he was an executive director in the real estate investment banking unit. In this role, he was responsible for advising clients in the real estate sector on a range of issues including private fund placement transactions and private cross-border M&A deals. Koichiro joined Morgan Stanley's real estate investment banking group in 2003 and was a member of the global private capital markets team - responsible for Asian institutional investors. He started his career at Mitsui Fudosan, and was a founding member of its real estate investment advisory unit, Mitsui Fudosan Investment Advisors. Koichiro has a bachelor's degree in economics from Keio University, a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School and a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences.

 

Jon T. Tanaka
Managing Director, Angelo, Gordon International LLC

Jon T. Tanaka joined Angelo, Gordon & Co as Managing Director and Head of its Japan unit, Angelo, Gordon International LLC, in 2009.  Founded in 1988, Angelo, Gordon & Co manages $24 billion including opportunistic and core plus real estate funds.  The firm’s real estate team is actively investing in North America, Europe and Asia. Previously, Mr. Tanaka was Managing Director for RREEF Japan in Deutsche Securities Inc. where he was responsible for property investing and portfolio management.

 

A. Barry Hirschfeld, Jr.
President & CEO, Asia Investment Partners

Barry Hirschfeld, Jr. co-founded Asia Investment Partners in the fall of 1998 and currently serves as its President & CEO. Mr. Hirschfeld has worked and lived in Japan over the last 20 years. Mr. Hirschfeld brings with him over 13 years of experience in the Japanese real estate private equity market including leading the firm's initial healthcare related investments since 2001. Previously, Mr. Hirschfeld was a Panasonic Associate at Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Ltd. based in Osaka, Japan from 1993 to1996. Mr. Hirschfeld is also involved in the community and is a member of a number of non-profit boards, which include the National Association of Japan America Societies (NAJAS), the Urban Land Institute Japan Steering Committee, and the University of Denver Bridge Project. Mr. Hirschfeld is fluent in Japanese and Spanish and conducts business in both languages and cultures. Mr. Hirschfeld graduated with honors from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies in 1993, and the Harvard Graduate School of Business with a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 1998.

 

Tetsuya Fujita
Managing Director, Country Manager–Japan, CBRE Global Investors Japan K.K.

Mr. Fujita joined Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd. in 1984. With Sumitomo Realty, he worked for the residential condominium development projects in Japan and served as the President of its U.S. affiliates to oversee Sumitomo Realty's U.S. operation. In 2002, he was appointed as Managing Director of CB Richard Ellis Investors K.K. and spearheaded to establish a first foreign sponsored J-REIT, "New City Residence" which went public in 2004. After he served as Executive Officer of the J-REIT and President of CBRE Residential Management K.K. until 2007, Mr. Fujita became President of K.K. New City Corporation in 2008. Upon the transfer of New City's fund management business, Mr. Fujita joined ING Real Estate Investment Management (Japan) K.K. (presently CBRE Global Investors Japan K.K.) in 2009 and has became Managing Director and Country Manager in 2010.

Mr. Fujita holds BA from Waseda University, Tokyo.

 

Yoshiyuki Chosa
Managing Director, Global Logistic Properties Inc.

As Managing Director of Global Logistic Properties Inc., Mr. Chosa is responsible for its overall operations, including leasing, acquisition/disposition and asset management in Japan since the establishment of the company in March, 2009.

Mr. Chosa was Senior Vice President, Investment Management of ProLogis Japan before he joined Global Logistic Properties, where he was responsible for ProLogis’ investment management business in Japan. Mr. Chosa joined ProLogis in March 2003 as Vice President to launch and expand the acquisition business, in which he grew it to become ProLogis’ core business in Japan.

Prior to joining ProLogis, Mr. Chosa held several key positions within Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd, and Mitsui Fudosan Investment Advisors, Inc., a group company of Mitsui Fudosan. Joining Mitsui Fudosan in 1992, Mr. Chosa was involved in condominium and housing development projects as well as office leasing. At Mitsui Fudosan Investment Advisors, he was responsible for asset management services and providing real estate investment advisory services to overseas institutional investors.

Mr. Chosa receives his B.A. from Keio University in 1992.
Registered real-estate transaction manager.

 

Hiroyuki Isobe    < Moderator >
CRE, FRICS
President, Japan Valuers Co., Ltd.
Certified Real Estate Appraiser
Managing Director, Japan Association of Real Estate Counselors
Member of RICS Japan Working Group

BA in Economics at Waseda University in 1974. Registered as a Certified Real Estate Appraiser in 1978. MS in Real Estate and Urban Affairs at Georgia State University in 1982. Established an independent real estate appraisal firm in 1983 and has been engaged in the field of valuation and counseling for thirty years. Designated as a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) in 1988 and joined the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors as a Fellow in 2006. In 2009, Japan Valuers became a member of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC). He teaches at the Graduate School of Finance, Accounting & Law, Waseda University and Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nihon University.  He has been an instructor for ARES Certified MASTER since 2006.

 

Ben Elder, BA BSc FRICS ACIArb
Global Director of Valuation, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Ben is the Global Director of Valuation at the RICS and is responsible for delivery of the RICS Global Valuation Strategy which has a key role to play in global financial stability through participation by the RICS in the development and application of International Valuation Standards. Ben is well qualified for this role as an Economist and a Chartered Surveyor he is particular interest is the interface of the economy and the property market. In recognition of his expertise, and as a respected academic at Nottingham Trent University and The College of Estate Management, Ben was invited to present the Keynote address to the United Nations Real Estate Advisory Group Summit in Rome in October 2003 on the importance of developing land markets in Easter European Transitional Economies and in particularly EU accession countries.

Before joining the RICS, Ben was the Director of Business Development at the College of Estate Management, UK the word's leading provider of e-supported distance learning to the real estate and construction industries.

 

David Faulkner
Executive Director, Colliers International
Chairman of RICS Asia Valuation Professional Group Board
Member of International Valuation Standards Council Professional Board

David Faulkner is an Executive Director of Colliers International responsible for valuation and advisory services in the Asian region. He joined Colliers International in 2003 after 15 years with Insignia Brooke, and has been based in Asia for over 27 years. He has advised on a variety of major projects in Hong Kong, China and elsewhere in the Asian region including valuations, feasibility studies, development consultancy and structuring investments. He covers all the major sectors including residential, commercial, retail, industrial, hospitality and leisure. He also acts as an independent expert in making determinations in commercial rent disputes and has advised on a number of complex property valuation issues.

David is a member of the RICS Asia Board, and is also a Chairman of Asia Valuation Professional Group Board; a member of International Valuation Professional Board of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC); a member of the ULI North Asia Council; practising member of The Academy of Experts and a member of the Best Practices Committee of the Asian Public Real Estate Association (APREA).

 

Kazunori Takenouchi
Partner, Financial Services Department
Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC

Kazunori Takenouchi joined Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC in 2001 and promoted to a    partner in 2008. He specialized in audit and advisory services primarily for real-estate companies and real estate securitization transactions. Since the foundation of the Tokyo Stock Exchange J-REIT market, he has provided a number of IPO advisory and audit services. Prior to joining the firm, he was engaged in real estate due diligence and valuation at a Japanese Trust Bank. He is a co-author of “Accounting and Tax Q&A for Real Estate Transactions”. He holds a law degree from Aoyama Gakuin University. He is a member of the SPC committee at JICPA. He is a C.P.A. and a Cerfieid Real Estate Appraiser.

 

Shuzo Murakami
President, Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation

For more than 30 years, Dr. Murakami has been in charge of the research on Building and Environmental Control Engineering, mainly at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo (from 1972 to 2000), and at the Department of Engineering, Keio University (from 2001 to 2007) since graduating from the University of Tokyo (Department of Engineering, Faculty of Architecture).

He has been engaged in special research of the experimental study and the numerical simulation of turbulent airflow in rooms and around buildings. He has had a great deal of experience on CFD analysis of wind climate from human scale to urban scale. He initiated a new field of CFD Research. He has also conducted extensive interdisciplinary studies concerning global environmental engineering, urban/building environmental engineering, healthy cities, human comfort and health and so on. His achievements concerning energy and sustainability researches are remarkable. He is now working at Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation as a President.

 

Masato Ito
Deputy General Manager, Head of Sustainable Property Promotion Team
Real Estate Advisory Department
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited

After graduating from the Law Department of Waseda University, Tokyo, Mr. Ito joined The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. in 1983. He began his real estate career in the Bank as a licensed real estate appraiser, engaging in real estate appraisal, real estate trust services, as well as national property research, among others.

In 2005, an article entitled ” A note on environmental value added for real estate” that he entered for selection to commemorate the tenth founding anniversary of the Tokyo Association of Real Estate Appraisers won the top award.

While engaged in the management of sustainable real estate promotion, he is conducting research on the additional value of sustainable real estate.

He is also a member of the UNEP Finance Initiative Property Working Group (UNEP FI PWG) and an organizer of CASBEE Property Appraisal Subcommittee.

 

Hiroaki Takai
Environmental and M&E Engineer
Current Senior Manager of Environmental M&E Engineering, Design Management Department, Takenaka Corporation

1982 Completed Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 1982 Joined Takenaka Corporation, 2001 M&E Manager of Tokyo design department, 2007 Senior Manager of Environmental M&E Engineering, Design Management Department.

Master of Engineering, Registered First Class Building Services Architect, Technical fellow member of SHASE(the Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Sanitary Engineers of Japan) , Director of SHASE, Director of IBEC, etc.

<Scientific and Technical Papers> Numerous papers published related to environment design for large space, LCA, thermal environment around perimeter zone and CASBEE, etc.
<Major Works> Tokyo Dome, Fukuoka Dome, Odate Jukai Dome, Tokyo Sankei Building, Sapporo Dome, Takenaka Tokyo Main Office, Kaohsiung Stadium, Taichung Metropolitan Opera House, Nissan Motors Global Headquarters.