Message from the CEO
Tackling Climate Change with Startup Power
As climate change worsens yearly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions has become urgent. About 60% of carbon dioxide emissions come from power generation and transportation sectors, necessitating diversification of power sources and vehicle electrification.
Having long served as a consultant for many large Japanese companies, especially in the energy sector, I felt that solving the climate change problem (≈ decarbonization) would be difficult without both the power of large corporations and the innovative strength of new companies.
With climate action becoming increasingly pressing, startups' imagination and agility, added to the existing ecosystem, should illuminate a path to solutions. After 20 years as a consultant, I decided to start a business to take on the role of creating and executing innovation.
In starting this venture, I was encouraged by the words and attitude of my graduate school mentor, Professor Nobuo Sayama, who always challenges the unexplored. He also started his own business at my age and has become a leading Japanese executive. I, too, want to continue challenging myself.
The entrepreneurship I learned at Stanford University wasn't just about creating tech companies, but about the perspective and attitude of a social entrepreneur. We aim to address the major social issue of climate change by leveraging digital technology.
CEO
Ryoji Miyawaki
Profile
Aakel Inc.
Representative Director & CEO
Ryoji Miyawaki
Career
Accenture (April 1998 - June 2018)
April 1998 Joined the firm
September 2009 Promoted to Partner
September 2010 Appointed Managing Director, Electricity & Gas Business Unit, Japan
Aakel Inc.
August 2018 Established as CEO
Education
Master's degree from Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy
Visiting Scholar at Stanford University
Enrolled in Doctoral Program at Kyoto University Graduate School of Management
Achievements and Activities
Forbes Japan “NEXT 100 People Who Will Save the World” (April 2023)
Visiting Scholar, Stanford University (September 2018- August 2019)
Lecturer, School of Commerce, Waseda University (FY2021)
Guidance Partner, Kyushu-Asia Management School (2011-present)
Member of the EV Grid WG Study Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (FY2023)
Member of Expert Committee, Kyushu Regional Planning Council (FY2022-Present)
Chairperson of the Carbon Neutral WG, Kyushu DX Consortium
Expert member, Toyama Prefecture Carbon Neutral Strategy Development Subcommittee (FY2022)
Numerous lectures at universities and graduate schools including Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama National University, Keio University, and Waseda University
Numerous television and radio appearances, including NHK's “Ohayo Nippon
Numerous interviews and contributions to newspapers and magazines, including Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, Weekly Toyo Keizai,
Energy Forum, and Gas Energy Newspaper
Lectures at management meetings, expert study sessions, and in-house seminars for companies, including those listed on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange prime market
Speeches and appearances in FY2024
Mitsubishi Corporation North America M-Lab “M-Lab Tokyo Summit
Lecture at Yokohama National University, “Management Learning from Ventures
LOVE FM “music × serendipity
Kyushu Open Innovation Center
Carbon Neutral Awareness Seminar in Kumamoto
Carbon Neutral Awareness Seminar in Kagoshima
Carbon Neutral Seminar in Kitakyushu
Thailand-Kyushu Economic Exchange Seminar
Fukuoka Growth Night “Garraway F x FGN Collaboration Meet UP
Project E “The 10th Energy DX/GX Era
Conference Presentations
The 27th National Convention of the Japan Venture Capital Association, December 2024
A Systematic Literature Review on the Life Cycle of Green Ventures: The Changing Legitimacy of Green Ventures” (co-authored by Professor Jinichiro Yamada and Junya Yanagi, Kyoto University)
Paper presented at the 30th Anniversary Meeting of the Japan Finance Association, June 2022
Structural change in the relationship between electricity and fuel prices: Evidence from the Japanese electricity market” (co-authored by Professor Kazuhiko Ohashi, Hitotsubashi University)
