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Japan Innovation Network (JIN), a general incorporated association providing Japanese companies with acceleration support for innovation, announces the appointment of Nobu Konno as Chairperson and Hiro Nishiguchi as CEO, in addition to welcoming new board members Ari Horie, Founder & CEO of Women’s Startup Lab in the United States, as director, and Yasuo Nishiguchi, former president, chairman and CEO of Kyocera Corporation, as auditor, effective on October 1. Marking the seventh year since its establishment, JIN will further promote its activities under the leadership of the new board.

Since its founding in 2013, JIN has promoted the adoption of innovation management for numerous large and medium-sized companies and supported their efforts to launch specific innovation projects, with the aim of challenging the widely held belief that large companies cannot be innovative In August this year, JIN became the first organization in Japan to use the ISO 56000 series upon the beginning of their publication to provide acceleration support for innovation. JIN has indeed, been involved over the past four years as a representative of Japan in drafting these ISO 56000’s international standards on Innovation Management System (IMS).

In line with upgrading its operations, JIN has recruited new board members to seek professional advice on cutting-edge trends. Ari Horie has empowered women to build successful startups around the world, and Yasuo Nishiguchi has contributed to creating many new businesses for Kyocera. Meanwhile, Nobu Konno, who previously served as representative director, will become Chairperson, a position newly created to build an ecosystem from broader perspectives. The CEO will be replaced by executive managing director Hiro Nishiguchi.

Under this new leadership, JIN will step up efforts to promote innovation management systems in Japan and accelerate support for innovation with a view to accomplishing its mission of making Japan an “Innovation Nation” once again.

[Newly appointed board members]

Ari Horie, Founder & CEO of Women’s Startup Lab (WSLab), engaged in marketing at a high-tech firm in Silicon Valley after graduating from California State University. In 2013 Horie established WSLab in Silicon Valley, as a startup accelerator supporting female entrepreneurs. She was selected as one of CNN’s “10 Visionary Women” in 2014 as well as one of the “Forty Women to Watch Over 40,” which honors influential women in the United States, in 2015.

Yasuo Nishiguchi earned a master’s degree from Osaka Kyoiku University Graduate School of Education and joined Kyocera Corporation, where he later served as president, chairman, CEO, and advisor. After retirement, Nishiguchi completed a doctoral program in Technology and Innovative Management at the Doshisha University Graduate School of Policy Management and obtained a Ph.D. in Technology Management. He currently holds various senior posts, including president of Handy Inc., special advisor of Socionext Inc., and outside director of many other companies. He also serves as a visiting professor at the Doshisha University Institute for Technology, Enterprise and Competitiveness.