Speaker Bios
Eri Akamatsu, Head of Issuer Services Japan, Citigroup
Eri serves as Head of Issuer Services for Citigroup Global Markets Japan (Depositary Bank) and Citibank N.A. Tokyo branch (Agency & Trust)
Since joining Citi in 2021 she has been the Japan representative for Issuer Services, serving as DR Bank sales lead and account manager for leading Japanese corporates.
Prior to joining Citi she was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs Japan Operations, covering middle office functions across multiple products including Derivatives, Global Equities and Fixed Income.
Eri brings almost 20 years’ experience in financial services with in-depth understanding of global securities market, settlement and transaction flows, and a wide range of client coverage experience from start-ups to major Japanese corporates, institutional investors, investment banks, VCs, lawyers and auditing firms.
Drew Bernstein, Co-Chair, Marcum Asia CPAs LLC
Drew Bernstein is the Co-Chairman of MarcumAsia, initially co-founder of Bernstein & Pinchuk, a PCAOB registered accounting firm that has been providing SEC audit and advisory services to Asian companies since 1983. The firm is a member of the Marcum Group and an affiliate of Marcum LLP, a leading U.S. accounting and advisory firm. The combined firm is one of the largest middle market accounting firms servicing Asia-based, US publicly traded companies.
Inez Chew, Director, ActiveDisclosure with Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN)
Inez Chew is the Director of ActiveDisclosure with Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN) in the Asia-Pacific region. With over a decade of experience in technology adoption, she has successfully guided a diverse range of companies—from early-stage startups to multinational private and public enterprises—in establishing robust policies, automating workflows, and developing tech-enabled strategies to navigate evolving corporate governance and disclosure requirements.
Inez specializes in collaborating with Foreign Private Issuers (FPIs) in preparing for U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) and public listings to establish technology-driven processes in conjunction with their advisors, while enhancing financial reporting and SEC compliance readiness.
Crocker Coulson, CEO, AUM Advisors Inc
Crocker is an award-winning investor relations and corporate communications advisor with two decades of experience helping public and private companies access the capital markets and complete major acquisitions and business transformations. He has worked with senior leaders of over 100 companies across various industries ranging from startups to Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 scale enterprises. His firm, AUM Advisors, provides capital markets, investor relations, financial reporting, and corporate communications advisory services, with a strong focus on companies from Asia going public in the U.S. via IPO or SPAC merger.
David E. Danovitch, Partner, Sullivan & Worcester LLP
David is the managing partner of Sullivan's New York office, where he is also director of the Corporate Department and co-heads the Firm’s Asia practice. He has extensive cross-border transaction experience representing issuers, broker-dealers and investment funds in financings, capital markets transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. David's clients span a variety of industries and his practice includes such matters as general corporate governance, securities regulation, mergers and acquisitions, and financings, and has defended numerous government enforcement actions. He also maintains several securities industry licenses, including the Series 24 (Registered Principal), Series 7 (General Securities), Series 79 (Investment Banking), and Series 99 (Operations), which gives him a unique insight into the challenges facing regulated firms.
Jordan Fisher, Co-Founder & Chairman, Zehitomo Inc.
Jordan Fisher is Co-Founder and Chairman of Zehitomo, Japan’s marketplace for local services. From home renovations to karaoke coaches, Zehitomo provides a platform to match with 600+ types of service professionals. Jordan is also Venture Partner at Antler Japan, supporting and investing in ambitious founders from Day Zero. Previously, Jordan was Vice President at J.P.Morgan in Tokyo, working in Fixed Income Technology and Equities Sales Trading.
Born and raised in New York, Jordan holds a B.S. Computer Science from the University of Southern California. He is also a loving husband, and a father to two young daughters.
Alex Jin, Managing Director, Maxim Group
Mr. Jin has over 10 years of investment banking experience focusing on emerging growth companies in Greater China. Mr. Jin has participated in over $2 billion worth of transactions, including IPO, SPAC, Follow-on, RD/CMPO, Private Placement and M&A. Mr. Jin currently spearheads Maxim’s China practice and has been instrumental in propelling firm’s practice to a industry leading position. Prior to joining Maxim Group, Mr. Jin was with Global Hunter Securities, where he focused on executing China-based transactions. Prior to Global Hunter Securities, Mr. Jin began his investment banking career at Sterne Agee & Leach. Mr. Jin holds an MBA and B.A. from the University of California, Riverside. He is bilingual in English and Mandarin. Mr. Jin holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 Registrations.
Sachiko Katori, Director Japan, AUM Advisors Inc
Sachiko Katori has over 18 years of experience in cross-border equity transactions, capital markets advisory and financial communication with special focus on US- Japan and Asia ex. Japan. With a background spanning Equity Capital Markets (ECM), M&A, and private company equity fundraising, Sachiko has a proven track record of leading international equity capital transaction and investor communications to deliver impactful solutions for private and public corporations. Sachiko held leadership positions at Nomura Securities International and Daiwa Capital Markets America as well as a hydrogen energy start-up where she spearheaded fundraising initiatives and developed comprehensive financial strategies for the U.S. market. Sachiko holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, and degrees in Law from Waseda University, Tokyo. She is fluent in both Japanese and English and holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.
Craig Linder, Partner, Anthony, Linder & Cacomanolis, PLLC
Craig D. Linder, Esq. is a partner at Anthony, Linder & Cacomanolis, PLLC and has over 28 years of experience as a securities lawyer to issuers and underwriters, specializing in public registration of securities (with particular emphasis as issuer’s counsel in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of domestic and foreign private issuers, registered direct offerings (RDOs), and confidentially marketed public offerings (CMPOs), private investment in public equity transactions (PIPEs), and listing of securities on the NASDAQ and NYSE. Craig has worked with a number of Japanese issuers on their listings on U.S. exchanges. He is a graduate of NYU Law School.
John A. Stapleton, Partner, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
John Stapleton represents clients in domestic and international corporate and securities transactions. He regularly advises issuers and underwriters in a variety of public and private securities transactions, including initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, debt offerings and special purpose acquisition company transactions. His clients operate businesses in a variety of industries, primarily including healthcare, real estate, medical technology, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and blockchain and crypto assets, among others.
John lived for six years in Japan and is a leading capital markets and M&A attorney in cross-border Japanese legal matters. He has extensive experience representing Japanese and U.S. companies in a variety of cross-border corporate and capital markets transactions. John serves as an independent director on the board of directors of LogProstyle Inc., a Japanese company which operates a real estate renovation and resale business, a real estate development business, a hotel management business and a restaurant management business.
Bob Stephenson, Managing Director, Investment Banking, ROTH Capital Partners, LLC
Robert Stephenson is a Managing Director, Co-Head Sustainability Investment Banking at ROTH. He has been with the company since 1998. Starting in 2005, he played a pivotal role in developing Roth Capital Partners' China Investment Banking practice and currently leads the Industrials and Cleantech sectors. Throughout his career, he has successfully completed nearly 170 transactions with a total value exceeding $6.5 billion. Notably, he has been involved in over 80 transactions, totaling over $3.5 billion, specifically for U.S.-listed Chinese companies. Prior to joining Roth in 1998, he gained experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (formerly known as Coopers and Lybrand, L.L.P.).
Mr. Stephenson holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California.
Yingjie Weng, Managing Director, Chardan
Yingjie Weng is a Managing Director of Investment Banking at Chardan. She joined Chardan in 2011 and has originated and executed over $10 billion in transactions throughout her career, including IPOs, M&As and both public and private capital raises across multiple industries. Ms. Weng brings extensive experience in cross-border SPAC IPOs and mergers, and provides in-depth deal structuring, valuation, negotiation, and financing solutions for both private and public emerging growth companies in Asia.
Ms. Weng holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Mathematics and Economics from University of Michigan Ann Arbor. She is bilingual in English and Mandarin Chinese.