ispace is going to the Moon,

because we have a real purpose.

Inspired by Star Wars as a child, Takeshi Hakamada set out to pursue a life focused on space exploration. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, where he was involved in the conceptual design of next-generation aerospace systems. Starting in 2010, while working for a management consulting firm, he worked part-time to lead the Japanese team, HAKUTO, one of the finalists for the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, and changed the team’s management to ispace, inc. As Founder & CEO of ispace, Takeshi has raised record fundraising for the company and spearheaded the world’s first private lunar exploration program, “HAKUTO-R” from 2018 to 2025. An active proponent for the commercial space industry, Takeshi is guiding ispace to continuously challenge itself to enable humans to establish a sustainable ecosystem between the Earth and the Moon by unlocking the utilization of space resources.

After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a B.A. in Social Psychology, Jumpei Nozaki worked for over ten years at a securities firm, focusing mainly on the automotive and oil sectors, where he advised clients on fundraising, IPOs, and M&A. Through the course of working alongside individuals in top management, he sensed a major change in the times, which led him to join ispace and take part in such a major transformation that occurs only once in a century. As Director and CFO at ispace, he is mainly responsible for financial and capital management. He has also been involved extensively in laying down the foundation of the company’s internal management, including finance and accounting, human resources, and general affairs, and in 2017, raised 10.35 billion yen ($97.6MM USD), one of the largest Series A financing rounds ever raised in the space sector. Reflecting back on his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, he feels a peculiar connection to his path in life.

Tohru Akaura is an External Director for ispace. After graduating from university, he joined Japan Associated Finance Co., Ltd. (now JAFCO Group Co., Ltd.) in 1991, where he spent approximately eight and a half years engaged in venture capital investment and business development activities. In 1999, he became independent and has since focused on early-stage venture investing and supporting entrepreneurs. In 2010, he founded Incubate Fund and assumed the role of General Partner. He has supported the launch and growth of numerous startups and has also served as Director, Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the Japan Venture Capital Association (JVCA), contributing to the development of Japan’s startup ecosystem. At ispace, he has supported the Company’s growth over many years, particularly through fundraising activities. Leveraging his extensive experience as a venture capitalist and his expertise in corporate management, he provides advice on both financial and business strategies, while serving as an External Director overseeing management execution and contributing to the enhancement of corporate value.

Koichi Kawana is an External Director at ispace. In 1982, he joined JGC Corporation (now JGC Holdings Corporation). During his career, he has spent 15 years working internationally and was responsible for the execution of large-scale projects, business development, and investments in new ventures. From 2011 to 2017, he served as President and Representative Director of the company, leading the expansion of its global business in the energy and infrastructure sectors. He currently serves as Director and Chairman of RENOVA, Inc. as well as an outside director of several companies, and possesses extensive management experience and business expertise. He has served as an External Director of ispace since 2020. At ispace, he leverages his extensive experience in corporate management and project management to provide independent oversight and strategic advice to management, contributing to the enhancement of the company’s long-term corporate value.

Kazuko Nakada is an external director at ispace. After graduating from the Faculty of Humanities at Sophia University, she began her career at Dentsu Young & Rubicam Inc. and later joined Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd., where she served as Head of Public Relations and Executive Officer in charge of marketing and public relations. She subsequently worked at GABA Corporation before joining LIFENET INSURANCE COMPANY, where she served as Managing Director and Chief Communications Officer (CCO) from 2011 to 2017, overseeing marketing strategy and corporate communications. She currently serves as Representative Director of actuali inc. and as an outside director of several companies. Since 2023, she has also served as a member of the Consumer Commission, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. At ispace, she leverages her expertise in marketing and public relations, together with her experience in corporate management, to provide strategic advice from the perspectives of brand value enhancement and organizational development, contributing to the effectiveness of the Board of Directors.

Kojiro Hatada serves as an External Director at ispace. After completing a master’s degree in Energy Science at Kyoto University, he joined the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in 2004. After working on energy and industrial policy, he served at the Mission of Japan to the European Union and the Embassy of Japan in Belgium. In 2015, he was seconded to the National Space Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office, where he contributed to the expansion of the commercial space industry through initiatives including the enactment of Japan’s Space Activities Act, the formulation of the Space Industry Vision 2030, and the launch of the space business idea contest S-Booster. He later helped establish J-Startup, a startup support program led by METI. He currently serves as Representative Director, President & CEO of Innovative Space Carrier Inc. and as an Outside Director of ArkEdge Space Inc. At ispace, he leverages his extensive experience and expertise in energy, industrial, and space policy to provide advice on government relations and lunar development initiatives, while serving as an External Director overseeing the execution of management.

Takashi Makino is an External Director for ispace. After completing a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, he began his career at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. before joining Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (now IHI Corporation) in 2000. Since then, he has been engaged in the management of aerospace and aviation businesses, serving as President and Representative Director of IHI AEROSPACE Co., Ltd. from 2017 to 2021. Through decades of involvement in the space, defense, and aviation sectors, he has accumulated extensive experience and expertise in both business operations and technology development related to space development. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Aero Engine, Space & Defense Business Area at IHI Corporation. At ispace, he leverages his extensive experience and knowledge gained through many years in the space industry to support management from both technological and business strategy perspectives, while serving as an External Director overseeing the execution of management.

Yuji Inoue is a standing auditor at ispace. After graduating from the Faculty of Commerce at Hitotsubashi University, he joined Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in 1977. During his career in the company’s corporate accounting division, he was responsible for company-wide financial consolidation and ERP implementation, before serving as Deputy General Manager of the Accounting Department and head of business units. He also served as an Audit & Supervisory Board Member of group companies, gaining extensive experience and expertise in finance, accounting, business operations, and auditing. He joined ispace in 2018 and served as General Manager of the Internal Audit Office before assuming the role of Standing Audit & Supervisory Member in 2020. At ispace, he leverages his extensive knowledge and experience in finance, accounting, and auditing, together with his deep understanding of the Company’s business and internal controls, to enhance the effectiveness of the audit system and ensure sound corporate governance in his role as Standing Audit & Supervisory Member.

Agasa Naito is an external auditor at ispace. After being admitted to the bar in 2001, she worked at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu before joining Tanabe & Partners in 2011, where she has served as Partner since 2013. In addition to her extensive experience in corporate law, she has held positions including External Director of NITTO BOSEKI CO., LTD., Outside Director and Audit & Supervisory Committee Member of BOOKOFF GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED, and Supervisory Director of GLP J-REIT, giving her broad expertise in legal affairs, corporate governance, and auditing. She has served as an External Audit & Supervisory Member of ispace since 2023. At ispace, she leverages her professional expertise in corporate law, together with her experience as an outside officer at multiple companies and organizations, to conduct independent audits, contributing to the effectiveness of the Company’s audit framework and the promotion of compliance.

Yoshihide Todoroki is an External Auditor at ispace. In 1989, he joined Asahi Shinwa & Co. (now KPMG AZSA LLC) and became a Partner in 2002. As a Certified Public Accountant, he has extensive experience in auditing and assurance services. In 2021, he established the Todoroki CPA Office. He also serves as External Audit & Supervisory Board Member of MICIN, Inc., Outside Director and Audit & Supervisory Committee Member of ZenmuTech, Inc., and Partner of Crafts Audit Corporation, and possesses extensive experience and advanced expertise in accounting and auditing. He has served as an External Audit & Supervisory Member of ispace since 2022. At ispace, he leverages his professional expertise in finance, accounting, and auditing, together with his experience as a director and auditor at other organizations, to conduct independent audits and support the effectiveness of the Company’s audit framework and the strengthening of corporate governance.

Inspired by Star Wars as a child, Takeshi Hakamada set out to pursue a life focused on space exploration. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, where he was involved in the conceptual design of next-generation aerospace systems. Starting in 2010, while working for a management consulting firm, he worked part-time to lead the Japanese team, HAKUTO, one of the finalists for the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, and changed the team’s management to ispace, inc. As Founder & CEO of ispace, Takeshi has raised record fundraising for the company and spearheaded the world’s first private lunar exploration program, “HAKUTO-R” from 2018 to 2025. An active proponent for the commercial space industry, Takeshi is guiding ispace to continuously challenge itself to enable humans to establish a sustainable ecosystem between the Earth and the Moon by unlocking the utilization of space resources.

After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a B.A. in Social Psychology, Jumpei worked for over ten years at a securities firm, focusing mainly on the automotive and oil sectors, where he advised clients on fundraising, IPOs, and M&A. Through the course of working alongside individuals in top management, he sensed a major change in the times, which led him to join ispace and take part in such a major transformation that occurs only once in a century. As Director and CFO at ispace, he is mainly responsible for financial and capital management. He has also been involved extensively in laying down the foundation of the company’s internal management, including finance and accounting, human resources, and general affairs, and in 2017, raised 10.35 billion yen ($97.6MM USD), one of the largest Series A financing rounds ever raised in the space sector. Reflecting back on his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, he feels a peculiar connection to his path in life.

Ryo Ujiie, currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for ispace, inc. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in geophysics from Tohoku University in 2007 and 2009, respectively, and M.S. degree in engineering and management from MIT in 2016. He started his professional career at JAXA in 2009 as a software/simulation engineer, was involved in software-independent verification and validation of multiple flight projects, and was engaged in software engineering, Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) simulation, and system safety design research projects until 2015. After graduating from MIT in 2016, he initiated several Multi-disciplinary System Design Optimization research projects at JAXA. In 2017, he became a member of the HTV-X (a JAXA unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft) project team and was primarily involved in GNC tasks and NASA interface management. In 2018, he started his new career at ispace as Deputy Project Manager/Lander System Engineering Group Manager before being appointed CTO in June 2022.

Prior to joining ispace, Mr. Imamura served as Executive Officer and General Manager of the Human Resources Department for Z Holdings, Inc. In addition, he held multiple senior positions for Recruit, Inc., in Japan, the United States and the Netherlands. Mr. Imamura graduated from the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at the University of Tokyo.

Dr. Julien-Alexandre Lamamy has over 15 years of experience in the space industry working in NASA missions that have monitored Earth, landed on Mars, and are searching for habitable planets beyond our solar system. He holds a Masters from Ecole Centrale de Lyon, and a Masters and PhD in Space Systems Engineering from MIT. He is currently the CEO of ispace-EUROPE based in Luxembourg. He is also serving as President of Euro2Moon, a non-profit association co-founded by ispace, Airbus, and Air Liquide to promote space exploration and space resources in Europe.

Elizabeth has led programs, supply chain, business development, communications, government affairs, and business transformation initiatives for the U.S. entity. Elizabeth has held various leadership roles in the aerospace sector, from new product introduction to program management and strategic planning in advanced material science and environmental sciences. Prior to joining ispace – U.S., Elizabeth most recently served as the Chief of Staff – Vice President of Business Operations for World View, an Aerospace startup company pioneering un-crewed high altitude Stratospheric flight systems for a myriad of remote sensing applications. She holds a master’s in engineering (MEng) from Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Yoshitsugu Hitachi received bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2007 and master’s degree from University of Toronto in 2010. In 2011, he began his professional career as a guidance, navigation, and control engineer at NEC in Tokyo. He was involved in the development of attitude control system design of various spacecrafts over 8 years before joining ispace, inc. He started his new career at ispace in 2019 as a Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) Engineer, contributing to the development of Mission 1. For Mission 2, he served as Manager of both the Systems Engineering Group and the Project Management Group, while also leading the overall development and integration of the mission. 

In 2024, he was appointed Executive Vice President (EVP) of the Japan Engineering Division. Since May 2026, he has served as EVP of the Japan Mission Management Division and Director of the Landing, Descent and Control Systems Design Department. In these roles, he leads the development of Mission 3 and the ULTRA lander. 

Engaged in the aerospace business and new business development at Mitsubishi Corporation from 1997 to June 2025. He was stationed twice in Washington, D.C., where he actively promoted space and national security businesses on a global scale. He contributed to international partnerships, including serving as an outside director of Japan Space Imaging, a Japanese company, and Starlab Space, a U.S.-based company.

In his final role at Mitsubishi Corporation, he led the restructuring and rebuilding of the company’s space business.

He joined ispace in July 2025 as Executive Vice President, where he leads new business development and global corporate strategy.

Mariano earned his degree in Electrical Engineering in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and began his career in industrial automation within the Oil & Gas sector. In 2016, he transitioned to the space industry in Earth observation. He started as a GNC engineer, applying novel estimation and control techniques that resulted in patents and publications. He later led both the GNC and Optical Payload teams, before becoming Systems Engineering Director, where he led the design of the company’s first dedicated launch, deploying ten satellites in 2020.
He subsequently moved to Europe as VP of Mission and Concept Design, leading early-stage design activities for Earth observation satellites. In 2023, he joined ispace in Japan to continue his work in research and development. At ispace, he initially led the concept and preliminary design of the ULTRA lander while concurrently serving as Engineering Project Manager.
Today, as EVP of R&D at ispace, Mariano leads the translation of the CEO’s and CTO’s vision into a technology roadmap, advancing the development of landers, orbiters, OTVs, and rovers to enable a sustainable cislunar architecture. 

Luca Varisco is the Executive Vice President of IT & Security at ispace, leading global IT strategy, governance, and cybersecurity to support the company’s growth in the aerospace sector.  
With a background in electronic engineering and robotics, he has held Global CIO roles, driving large-scale digital transformation and ROI-driven programs while managing portfolios of over 200 projects.  
He is recognized for his expertise in IT governance, information security, and building scalable, business-aligned technology environments that enable sustainable growth

Katie Lucas brings over 15 years of leadership and management experience, specializing in building foundational HR systems, scaling teams, and refining processes to support organizational growth. She is passionate about aligning people strategies with business goals to create workplaces where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to thrive. Originally from Georgia and now based in Denver, Katie enjoys spending time with her family and has a lifelong love of books.

Tyler serves as Executive Vice President of Engineering, leading the engineering organization of ispace-U.S. Prior to the current role, Tyler served as Senior Director of Engineering and Director of Mission Operations and Flight Dynamics groups. Tyler played a pivotal role in growing the company since the company’s founding to over 100 employees today, notably by managing the team that bid and won the $73M NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract (CP-12) as part of Team Draper, awarded in July 2022. In a prior role, Tyler served as an Ordnance System Engineer at United Launch Alliance, responsible for the full product life cycle of staging and flight termination components and systems on Atlas V, Delta IV, Delta Heavy, and Vulcan launch vehicles.

Roger is a seasoned leader with over 25 years of aerospace industry experience, specializing in product realization, program management, and manufacturing processes. He built his foundation at traditional aerospace defense companies like L-3 Communications and Harris Corporation, leading manufacturing and managing profit and loss. For the past six years, Roger has been a pivotal force in the commercial space field with key roles at Sierra Nevada Corp/Sierra Space, Blue Origin, and World View Enterprises. In these roles, he’s focused on scaling operational and manufacturing organizations, standardizing mission operations, and leading product and program teams to ensure deliverables. Roger holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah.

With a more than 30-year career in the space industry, Mr. Alexander brings extensive experience to ispace-U.S. He held positions at Blue Origin in key business and government sales roles, Firefly Aerospace as Chief Revenue Officer and as President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Prior to that, Mr. Alexander also served in government as a senior policy analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, serving under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He also served in advisory roles to both NASA and the FAA and was the Executive Director for the Google Lunar X PRIZE. He holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Mr. Dordain was the sixth Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) and was reappointed twice to the role by the ESA Council, serving in the role from 2003-2015. He has served in numerous government and academic roles throughout his career including the Executive Secretary of the Evaluation Committee of the Japanese space agency NASDA. In addition, he has received awards from several European governments for his service including the National Order of the Legion of Honour from the president of France. In addition, he has served as an honorary Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation and Chancellor of the International Space University.