Taku Iwasaki
Managing Partner, CEO, COO
As the CEO and COO of The Izanami Initiative, Taku is directly responsible for the operations, business development, and portfolio management strategy of the company. A native Canadian and graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa, Taku has been in the business of golf for more than 20 years.
Previous professional roles in Japan include a CEO of a major golf asset and management company with nine golf courses, two hotels, and approximately 500 employees; another as a Senior Manager responsible for the management of eleven golf courses, one hotel, and nearly 1,000 employees. In addition to golf operations, Taku has extensive experience in M&A activity, large-scale contract negotiations, and Japanese legal restructuring.
Taku has managed, played or visited approximately 10% of the world’s golf courses, of which approximately 400 are those in Japan.
In addition to the golf industry, Taku’s previous tenures include senior consulting economist roles for major Japanese corporations and federal government departments and agencies in Canada, as well as serving as the Managing Editor of the Canada-Japan Business Review. Taku is originally from Toronto, Ontario and now resides in Tokyo, Japan.
James Makoto Takagi
Managing Partner, CFO, Eｘecutive VP
As the CFO of The Izanami Initiative, Jim is responsible for all finance, tax, legal, human resources and investments of the company. A third generation Japanese Canadian from Vancouver, B.C. and a graduate of University of British Columbia (Commerce and Business Administration), Jim became a Charted Accountant with Coopers and Lybrand (now PwC) and worked as a senior manager with Ernst & Young in Hong Kong. From July 1989, Jim worked for Phillip Morris Japan KK (PMJ), where he was part of the team that led PMJ business growth and corporate foundation. At PMJ, Jim held such various positions as Director of Finance, Director of Field Sales Promotion and Director of Business Development & Operations.
Jim is an established senior business executive with extensive success leading finance, sales, operations, supply chain and planning organizations. He is particularly strong at building vision & strategy, developing people, transforming corporate culture, building teams and working with global senior management to set strategic and financial direction for the business.
Akio Kai
VP, Investments
As the Vice President of Investment of The Izanami Initiative, Akio is responsible for building a sizable, sustainable, and profitable portfolio for the company. After more than a decade of a career in finance with a top Japanese insurance company, Akio established himself in the investment field as a the Deputy General Manager of Credit Trading at Shinsei Bank for more than five years, where he managed real estate investment portfolios, handled structuring duties, monitored investment vehicles of third party servicers, and overall credit trading activity.