Akira Kurabayashi

Director
 
As a Director in Globespan’s Tokyo office, Akira’s primary focus is on investments in Japan; he also supports Globespan’s portfolio companies by expanding their business domain in Asia. Akira, who enjoys working with and providing support to entrepreneurs, brings to Globespan a history of success in venture capital investing and helping portfolio companies increase their presence in Asian markets.

Prior to Globespan, Akira worked for Mitsui & Co., Ltd, providing leadership to the firm’s venture capital investments in high-tech companies in both the US and Japan. Akira was a co-founder and director at Mitsui’s Silicon Valley Technology Investment Group, where his responsibilities included the managing and execution of venture and private equity investments as well as promoting the expansion of portfolio companies’ influence in Japan. While there, he led the investment and served as a board observer to Luidia.  Akira also led Mitsui's investments in Globespan's Fund IV and V, promoting collaboration between Mitsui and Globespan’s portfolio companies.  He was the first trainee of the Technology Rotation Program at Globespan.  Before moving to the US, he remained actively involved in Mitsui’s high-tech investment team in Tokyo.

Previously, Akira worked for Fujitsu Limited and was involved in the monitoring of several portfolio companies as well as in various corporate venture capital roles. He worked at Walden International’s Tokyo office, where he promoted co-investments between Fujitsu and Walden International and was actively involved in creating and managing Fujitsu’s spin-off program. Akira also worked on strategic planning for Nifty, the largest ISP in Japan and subsidiary of Fujitsu.

Akira learned early in his career to “always focus on performance as a team, not an individual.” During that time, he had the opportunity to travel through most of Japan, in both urban and rural areas, while working on business development for Fujitsu’s NTT DoCoMo.  He was responsible for helping to build NTT DoCoMo’s digital cellular wireless network used for “i-mode”, the world’s first wireless telephone Internet system. He was also involved in building DoCoMo’s nationwide call center and CRM system. These experiences taught him that it is continual collaboration and teamwork throughout a project that sparks innovation and ultimately a project’s success, “Innovation can’t be easily created by individuals.” 

Akira’s early experience also includes working in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs & Co.'s Tokyo office.

Akira earned a BA in Commerce from Doshisha University in Japan and holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with a double major in Entrepreneurial Management and Finance. While at Doshisha University, Akira was a starting wing spiker on the varsity volleyball team. He enjoys both playing and watching sports, especially baseball and volleyball, and has most recently taken up the game of golf.