Management
Mr. Kazuhiko Yoshida
Chairman and CEO
Mr. Kazuhiko Yoshida was appointed as Chairman of the Group on 19 March 2008. He is concurrently the Chief Executive Officer, Director and one of the founders who established the Company in 1997. Mr. Yoshida is responsible for business development and the overall management of the Group. He has over 27 years of experience in banking and credit analysis, specialising in structured finance of maritime vessels and aircraft. Between 1986 and 1992, he was a senior manager in The Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. following which, he was a director/ deputy general manager of Takugin International (Asia) Limited, the offshore merchant banking arm of The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. from 1992 to 1997. Takugin International (Asia) Limited provided structured finance solutions for the aviation and shipping industries, provided project financing for construction of properties, including hotels and buildings and also provided corporate financing to Chinese financial institutions and other corporations. Mr. Yoshida is also currently a director of Capital Advisers Co., Ltd, Uni-Asia Capital (Singapore) Limited, and Uni-Asia Finance Corporation (Japan). Mr. Yoshida obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Hokkaido University in Japan in 1976.
Mr. Michio Tanamoto
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Michio Tanamoto is the Chief Operating Officer, Director stationed in Singapore and one of the founders who established the Company in 1997. Mr. Tanamoto is responsible for the Group’s business development, corporate strategy, finance and investor relations. He has over 29 years of experience in financial sector based in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. In 1980, Mr. Tanamoto joined The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. and was the senior manager of Takugin International (Asia) Limited in Hong Kong, the offshore merchant banking arm of The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. between 1988 and 1993. Following which, Mr. Tanamoto was the deputy general manager of the Singapore Branch of The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. from 1995 to 1997. Mr. Tanamoto is also currently the Managing Director of Uni-Asia Capital (Singapore) Limited and a director of Capital Advisers Co., Ltd. and Uni-Asia Finance Corporation (Japan). He obtained a bachelor’s degree in law from Hitotsubashi University of Japan in 1980.
Mr. Kitaro Onishi
Managing Director
Mr. Kitaro Onishi was appointed as the Managing Director of the Company on 10 March 2008. He is currently the President of Capital Advisers Co., Ltd. and is responsible for property investment business in Japan. Mr. Onishi has extensive experience in property investment business and was an investment banker. He worked for Goldman Sachs Group in the USA as well as in Japan from August 1988 to April 1992. From May 1992 to September 1998, he was with Kajima Corporation, one of the biggest general construction companies in Japan. In October 1998, he joined Credit Suisse Group as a director of the Tokyo branch and was the representative of the Tokyo whollyowned subsidiary of Credit Suisse. He left Credit Suisse Group and joined Capital Advisers Co., Ltd. as President in May 2004 and has been leading the property investment business of Capital Advisers Co., Ltd. in Japan since then. Mr. Onishi graduated from Waseda University in 1977.
Mr. Masaki Fukumori
Managing Director
Mr. Masaki Fukumori was appointed as the Managing Director on 10 March 2008. He is currently responsible for both the company’s Structured Finance and Maritime Investment Departments. Mr. Fukumori joined our Group in August 1997 and acted as Head of our Structured Finance Department until he initiated and has headed the Maritime Investment Department in 2002. He has extensive experience in marketing and syndication in the banking industry specialising in the shipping and aviation sectors spanning over 25 years as well as ship investment and investment management. Between 1985 and 1993, he was a marketing manager at The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. after which, he was a senior marketing manager at Takugin International (Asia) Limited from 1993 to 1997. He is also currently a director of Uni Ships and Management Limited, Akebono Capital Limited, Rich Containerships S.A, and Sunrise Shipping S.A. Mr. Fukumori holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Yokohama National University obtained in 1985.
Mr. Masahiro Iwabuchi
Executive Vice-President
Mr. Masahiro Iwabuchi was appointed as Executive Vice-President responsible for the Distressed Asset/Properties Investment Department in April 1998. He has extensive experience in the banking industry throughout Asia including Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the PRC, having spent some 13 years with The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. He is also currently a director of AAA and Uni-Asia Guangzhou Property Management Co., Ltd. He completed Licensing Examination for HKSI Specialist Certificate (Asset Management, Corporate Finance, Derivatives and Securities). Mr. Iwabuchi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hirosaki University of Japan in 1985. In addition to Japanese, Mr. Iwabuchi speaks fluent Mandarin.
Mr. Kenji Fukuyado
Executive Vice-President
Mr. Kenji Fukuyado was appointed as Executive Vice-President & Head of Maritime Finance Department in January 2010. He joined our Group in 2001 and was the Managing Director of Uni-Asia Finance Corporation (Japan) from May 2003 to December 2005. He was transferred to our head office in Hong Kong and became Head of Structure Finance Department in January 2006. Mr. Fukuyado has nearly 20 years of experience in the finance industry, including structured finance and corporate finance. Between 1987 and 1998, he was a manager at The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. in Japan and Hong Kong. Mr. Fukuyado graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law from Waseda University in 1987.
Ms. Clementine Ng
Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Clementine Ng joined our Company in February 2004 and is the Chief Financial Officer of the Group. She has over 17 years’ experience in the financial industry, including fund management, private equity and equity research. Ms. Ng started her career in Hong Kong as a manager with the hedge fund group Gaiacorp in 1992 and took on various responsibilities in the finance industry prior to joining us, including her role as an investment analyst at Amsteel Finance Corporation, an investment associate with the direct investment arm of AIG Investment Corporation, and a director at Kaizen Property Management Limited. Ms. Ng graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of British Columbia, Canada and holds a master’s of business administration degree from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, UK.
Mr. Matthew Yuen Wai Keung
Senior Vice-President
Mr. Matthew Yuen Wai Keung joined our company in October 1997 and is Senior Vice President. As head of Structured Finance Department, he is mainly responsible for fund raising for the Group’s ship investment as well as third party clients. Prior to this, Mr. Yuen worked in several international banks, specialising in marketing and syndications. Mr. Yuen graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1987 with a second class (upper) honours degree in Business Administration and received his MBA from The Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales in 1992. Mr. Yuen is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Mr. Zac K. Hoshino
Senior Vice-President
Mr. Zac K. Hoshino joined our group in September 2007 and acted as Co-Head of our Maritime Investment Department. He is Senior Vice President responsible for all shipping related matter and technical sector. He has extensive experience with chartering, operating, and contracting in Japanese shipping company for more than 25 years including Singapore and Hong Kong representative between 2002 and 2007. He is also the Managing Director of Uni Ships and Management Limited, a director of Glory Bulkship S.A. and Prosperity Containership S.A. Mr. Hoshino graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mercantile marine science from Tokyo University of Mercantile Marine obtained in 1984.
Mr. Makoto Tokozume
Senior Vice-President
Mr. Tokozume joined our company in January 2008, and is now in charge of investor relations and corporate planning. He is now stationed in Singapore as a member of Uni-Asia Capital (Singapore) Limited, 100% subsidiary of the company. He has over 21 years of working experience in financial industry in Japan and Singapore, having spent 11 years with The Hokkaido Takushoku Bank, Ltd. and nine years with The Bank of Tokyo -Mitsubishi Ltd. (currently The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsuibishi UFJ Ltd.). He graduated from Keio University with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1986, and received his MBA from the University of Hull, UK in 2000. Mr. Tokozume is registered as Certified Public Accountant of USA.
Ms. Kam Xiu Lin
Senior Assistant to Chairman and CEO
Ms. Kam Xiu Lin was appointed as Senior Assistant to chairman
and CEO responsible for the distressed asset investment
and property investment in PRC in December 1998. She has
extensive networks in PRC, especially in Guangdong, Beijing,
Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Ms. Kam started her banking career at The Hokkaido Takushoku
Bank, Ltd. in March 1985 and was appointed as a chief
representative of Guangzhou representative office of the bank
in 1994 and afterwards. She is also currently a director of
Uni-Asia Guangzhou Property Management Co., Ltd.
Mr. P. Phillip Phillips
Advisor to the Chairman and CEO
Mr. P. Phillip Phillips was appointed as an Advisor to the Chairman and CEO of the Company in May 2010. Mr. Phillips cooperates with UAF in the arrangement, origination and placement of financial transactions for itself and for its clients.
Currently living and working in London, Mr. Phillips was between 1990 and March 2010 a Managing Director and one of the founding equity partners of Capstar Partners, a New York based firm which focused on arranging tax based asset financing transactions including both UK and Japanese leases arranged with UAF. He managed the respective Hong Kong and London operations of Capstar for 19 years in aggregate and has significant expertise in Japanese, US and UK tax based leasing as well as ship and aircraft financing.
A graduate of Oxford University, Mr. Phillips was formerly a Vice President in the Private Equity and Leasing Group of Bankers Trust Company, a major New York bank in its London, Seoul and Tokyo offices. Prior to moving to London in 1999, Mr. Phillips spent 20 years living and working in Asia and has an in depth familiarity with many Asian jurisdictions.