We want to thank our investor advisory founding committee

Sen Tan is an experienced advisor to investors, founders and growth companies, with public LinkedIn material describing more than twenty-five years of work with venture capital and emerging company ecosystems. His work sits at the intersection of capital formation, founder readiness, investor relations and innovation community building. 

Sen has been active in climate-tech and startup ecosystem programming, including “VC Talks: Fundraising for Green Startups,” an event organized by Cleantech Open and ClimateLaunchpad, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, advisors and mentors in the climate-tech space. He has also supported programming around AI for climate innovators, linking founders with legal, investment and market experts. 

As a member of Venture & Capital International’s Advisory Committee, Sen brings a practical investor-facing perspective on how founders build trust, communicate value and prepare for fundraising conversations. His experience is especially relevant for early-stage and growth companies working across climate innovation, cross-border partnerships and venture-backed commercialization.

Akira Sugihara is a corporate venture and business development leader associated with Kanematsu Ventures Inc., where public LinkedIn data lists him among the company’s employees and identifies Kanematsu Ventures as a San Jose-based corporate venture capital and technology sourcing platform. Kanematsu Ventures describes its role as connecting startup technologies with Kanematsu Corporation’s assets, sales channels, operating experience and business resources. 

His work is positioned around open innovation, startup partnership development and the bridge between large corporations and emerging technologies. Kanematsu Ventures focuses across sectors including electronics, systems integration, telecom, cybersecurity, automotive, mobility, aerospace, agri-tech, food-tech, health, energy and green energy. 

As a member of Venture & Capital International’s Advisory Committee, Akira brings a strong Japan-U.S. corporate innovation lens. His contribution is particularly valuable for startups seeking strategic partners, corporate venture relationships, market-entry pathways and commercial collaborations with multinational groups.

Amine Benssy is Energy Markets and Open Innovation Team Manager at EDF Innovation Lab, a role he joined in June 2025. He brings deep expertise in energy markets, asset optimization, electric systems, decarbonization technologies and new business opportunities. 

Before joining EDF Innovation Lab, Amine held several roles within EDF after joining the group in 2014. He began in R&D, contributing to innovation in nuclear power plant performance and safety, then moved into EDF’s optimization and trading division as Power Generation Asset Manager, where he worked on nuclear fleet maintenance and production strategy. He later served as Chief of Staff to senior leadership in EDF’s Customers and Markets Department and Gas Assets Department. 

As a member of Venture & Capital International’s Advisory Committee, Amine brings a rigorous energy, infrastructure and decarbonization perspective. He can help evaluate how emerging technologies fit into real energy-market needs, utility constraints, asset optimization models and the broader transition toward resilient, low-carbon systems.

Pedro Blas La Rosa is a venture capital fund investment professional focused on early-stage VC funds, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. Public LinkedIn search results state that at IDB Lab he evaluates and underwrites commitments to early-stage VC funds, including review of investment theses, portfolio strategies, governance and historical performance. 

Pedro is also listed as an author of IDB Lab’s 2024 report, Fundraising for Venture Capital Funds in Latin America and the Caribbean, where he is identified as Investment Associate at IDB Lab. The report describes IDB Lab as the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, with more than 110 VC fund investments as a limited partner since 1996 and indirect exposure to more than 900 active companies through its fund portfolio. 

As a member of Venture & Capital International’s Advisory Committee, Pedro brings a limited-partner perspective that is highly valuable for fund managers, emerging managers and startups seeking to understand how institutional capital evaluates opportunity. His expertise supports better thinking around fund strategy, impact, governance, portfolio construction and venture ecosystem development

Evelyn Y. K. Lee is Founder and Managing Partner of Vine Ventures. Vine Ventures describes her as an international entrepreneur, investor, board advisor and philanthropist, with experience in capital raising, corporate development, deal structuring and transactions. 

Her public profile positions her as a global VC and private equity investor, venture builder and strategic architect. She has also been featured in discussions around the funding gap for women entrepreneurs, where she is described as an international investor, mentor and private equity expert focused on backing founders with consistency, integrity and strong mission commitment. 

As a member of Venture & Capital International’s Advisory Committee, Evelyn brings a global capital-markets and founder-building perspective. Her experience across fundraising, corporate development, deal structuring and international investment makes her especially valuable for founders preparing for investor conversations, cross-border expansion and strategic financing.

Tomoki Sato is a senior corporate strategy, innovation and business development executive associated with Casio America and Casio Computer Co., Ltd. Public LinkedIn results identify him as Head of Future Development Hub at Casio America, while other public business profiles describe him as Vice President, Corporate Strategy at Casio America. 

Across his career, Tomoki has worked at the intersection of corporate transformation, marketing, management, strategic planning and new business creation. Casio’s own corporate materials describe the Future Development Hub as a dedicated organization focused on shaping the company’s future vision, supporting organizational transformation, developing mechanisms for new business creation and strengthening internal communication across the company. 

As a member of Venture & Capital International’s Advisory Committee, Tomoki brings a valuable Japan-U.S. corporate innovation perspective. His experience is especially relevant for founders, investors and corporate partners seeking to understand how large global companies evaluate new technologies, build innovation pipelines and translate strategic priorities into partnerships, market development and long-term growth.