Makoto Takano

Mr. Takano joined Daiwa Securities in 1987, and moved to Goldman Sachs Asset Management in 1997, where he served as Executive Officer and General Manager of the Planning and Research Office before joining PIMCO Japan Limited in 2001. Mr. Takano served as President of PIMCO Japan for 13 years.

In 2014, Mr. Takano moved on to the publishing industry and joined atomixmedia, inc. (currently linkties Co., Ltd.) as CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes JAPAN to spearhead the launch of its Forbes JAPAN magazine. He holds his current title as Director and Chairman of the Board of llinkties Holdings Co., Ltd. since July 2024, and Founder of Forbes JAPAN since 2014.

Mr. Takano also founded MT Partners in 2007 and currently serves as CEO, and co-founded D4V (Design for Ventures, a venture capital firm formed in partnership with IDEO) in 2016 and is currently one of the GPs of its funds.

Mr. Takano serves on the board of a number of organizations, including Japan Venture Capital Association, International House of Japan and Endeavor Japan. To date, he has served as a board member at UWC ISAK Japan and Human Rights Watch. He holds an MS and BS in Science and Engineering from Waseda University.