Born in Osaka, 1974. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Doshisha University. After graduating from university, he joined a company which supported venture firms, with aspirations to eventually launch his own business. A year and a half later, at the age of 24, he founded his own company, and at age 30 the firm was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In order to realize Gaiax' company mission - "Empowering the people to connect" - investment has been further increased in sharing economy enterprises and related businesses, in addition to its work in social media businesses.
Ester van der Voet is an Associate Professor with Leiden University at the Department Industrial Ecology of the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML). Within the field of Industrial Ecology, she specialises in methodology development: life-cycle assessment, material flow analysis, substance flow analysis, natural resource accounting, and indicator development. These methodologies she applies to different topical areas, specifically resource use and resource management, resource efficiency, metals and the circular economy, agriculture and the biobased economy. She has initiated two MSc programs in Industrial Ecology: a program between Leiden University and TU Delft, and an international program of Leiden, Delft, Graz University and Chalmers University in Sweden. She has been head of CML's Department Industrial Ecology for 4 years. She has conducted and led many research projects for the EU and in other international consortia. She is a member of UNEP's International Resource Panel.
