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Makoto “Mak” Takano

Smart Money RatingBased on the data VC Catalog holds.

Smart Money Rating: 94 out of 100

Founder & CEO, Design for Ventures

Firm
Design for Ventures
Title
Founder & CEO
Role
Founder
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Record updated 29 September 2026

About

Makoto “Mak” Takano is Founder & CEO of D4V, where he oversees all investments and operations. Mr. Takano is also Chairman of linkties where he is Chairman and Publisher of Forbes JAPAN. Prior to founding linkties, he was Managing Director and President of PIMCO Japan and head of marketing at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Mr. Takano’s extensive experience in financial services also includes work at Daiwa Securities where he was head of the strategy team at Daiwa Institute of Research and published extensively on the capital markets. He is Founding Board Member of Endeavor Japan, Senior Managing Director of Japan Venture Capital Association, Board Member of GHV Accelerator and Asia Pacific Initiative as well as on the Editorial Board of Tokyo Financial Research. He holds an MS and BS in engineering from Waseda University.

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Background

Education
He holds an MS and BS in engineering from Waseda University.Source (opens in a new tab)

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