Reon Hiruma

Co-founder & CEO

Reon founded Potentialist in 2018 along with Yuji. Potentialist is a consulting firm specializing in Asia-Pacific market entry for US-funded startups. The majority of its clients are category-defining tech companies backed by top VC funds in the US.

Prior to founding Potentialist, Reon successfully brought a UK-based startup to Japan as its first Country Head with an exclusive partnership with Mastercard. He was also co-founder of a creator economy startup in New York, named Heyhey.

Aside from working in startups, Reon briefly worked in Private Equity at two institutions: Goldman Sachs and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC).

As a Dutch-Japanese bred in Tokyo, he speaks four languages, including English and French. Reon also hosts a podcast show on YouTube and Spotify called "Potentialist Show" which discusses strategies with top-tier entrepreneurs and VCs. 

Yuji Ito

Co-founder & Board

Former Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

In 1999, Yuji joined Goldman Sachs Tokyo office, where he contributed across various divisions including Equity and the Asian Special Situation Group (ASSG).

After his role as Managing Director in the Securities Division, Yuji pursued new ventures beyond the corporate sphere and co-founded Wings and AILE, a principal investment firm that focuses on diverse asset classes in Japan. Presently, Yuji is an active investor in the healthcare and financial technology sectors, offering his guidance and insight as a board member for several companies, including a publicly-traded Japanese corporation.

In December 2018, with a vision to nurture innovation across borders, Yuji, along with Reon, established Potentialist. At the firm, he uses his extensive network and deep understanding of the Japanese market to assist global technology companies in navigating and succeeding within across Asia-Pacific markets.

Hiroyuki Suzui

Board Advisor

Former Director of Accounting, Goldman Sachs

After working as a tax accountant at KPMG’s Madrid office between 1988 and 1996, Hiroyuki served as Director of Accounting at Sun Microsystems.

Later in 2004, he joined Goldman Sachs Tokyo office and played a key role in establishing "'Japan Hotel & Resort'“, Japan’s first ever hotel-focused J-REIT listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

For five years from 2007 to 2012, Hiroyuki was the CEO of Goldman Sachs -backed J-REIT and CEO of its management company (AUM $1.7 billion), managing 5 hotels in Japan and its 1,000+ employees.

After successfully changing the REIT's sponsor and merger with a different hotel-focused REIT, creating “Japan Hotel REIT”, he decided to leave the company to support younger generations of companies as their advisor and tax accountants.

Hiroyuki began to support Potentialist since 2020 as its advisor and helps Potentialist for its strategy execution efforts in Japan.