ispace is going

to the Moon,

because we have

a real purpose.

Inspired by Star Wars as a child, Takeshi Hakamada set out to pursue a life focused on space exploration. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, where he was involved in the conceptual design of next-generation aerospace systems. Starting in 2010, while working for a management consulting firm, he worked part-time to lead the Japanese team, HAKUTO, one of the finalists for the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition, and changed the team’s management to ispace, inc. As Founder & CEO of ispace, Takeshi has raised record fundraising for the company and is now leading a multinational commercial lunar exploration program, known as HAKUTO-R. An active proponent for the commercial space industry, Takeshi is guiding ispace to continuously challenge itself to enable humans to establish a sustainable ecosystem between the Earth and the Moon by unlocking the utilization of space resources.

After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a B.A. in Social Psychology, Jumpei worked for over ten years at a securities firm, focusing mainly on the automotive and oil sectors, where he advised clients on fundraising, IPOs, and M&A. Through the course of working alongside individuals in top management, he sensed a major change in the times, which led him to join ispace and take part in such a major transformation that occurs only once in a century. As Director and CFO at ispace, he is mainly responsible for financial and capital management. He has also been involved extensively in laying down the foundation of the company’s internal management, including finance and accounting, human resources, and general affairs, and in 2017, raised 10.35 billion yen ($97.6MM USD), one of the largest Series A financing rounds ever raised in the space sector. Reflecting back on his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut, he feels a peculiar connection to his path in life.

Ryo Ujiie, currently serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for ispace, inc. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in geophysics from Tohoku University in 2007 and 2009, respectively, and M.S. degree in engineering and management from MIT in 2016. He started his professional career at JAXA in 2009 as a software/simulation engineer, was involved in software-independent verification and validation of multiple flight projects, and was engaged in software engineering, Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) simulation, and system safety design research projects until 2015. After graduating from MIT in 2016, he initiated several Multi-disciplinary System Design Optimization research projects at JAXA. In 2017, he became a member of the HTV-X (a JAXA unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft) project team and was primarily involved in GNC tasks and NASA interface management. In 2018, he started his new career at ispace as Deputy Project Manager/Lander System Engineering Group Manager before being appointed CTO in June 2022.

Following a 37 year career at Mitsubishi Corporation, (One of Japan’s biggest trading and investment companies at the time) where he spent 19 years overseas (Saudi Arabia, Norway, UK twice, Canada and Singapore), mainly engaged in the steel pipe and energy industries, Atsushi Saiki joined ispace in September 2020 to support global sales generation before being appointed as Chief Revenue Officer in December 2021. He joined ispace attracted by the notion of unlimited potential and ambitious challenges. In his position, he oversees sales, marketing and communications, and the company’s partnership program. After spending his teenage life attending high school in the United States, Atsushi studied International Economics at Hitotsubashi University where he was also captain of the varsity ice hockey team. He spends his free time on the golf course, cheering on Chelsea F.C, and enjoying opera, ballet, museums, and visiting wineries.

Prior to joining ispace, Mr. Imamura served as Executive Officer and General Manager of the Human Resources Department for Z Holdings, Inc. In addition, he held multiple senior positions for Recruit, Inc., in Japan, the United States and the Netherlands. Mr. Imamura graduated from the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at the University of Tokyo.

Ron Garan is former CEO of ispace-U.S. and a former NASA astronaut, serial entrepreneur, humanitarian, and highly decorated combat fighter pilot. Prior to joining ispace – U.S., Ron served in various leadership positions including EVP of Operations and Co-President in the commercial spaceflight company, World View. Ron racked up 178 days in space and more than 71 million miles in 2,842 orbits between tours on the US Space Shuttle, Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and the International Space Station. During his time in space, Ron conducted four spacewalks in support of ISS construction and maintenance. Prior to those space journeys, he lived and conducted research on the bottom of the ocean in the world’s only undersea research lab, Aquarius.

Elizabeth has led programs, supply chain, business development, communications, government affairs, and business transformation initiatives for the U.S. entity. Elizabeth has held various leadership roles in the aerospace sector, from new product introduction to program management and strategic planning in advanced material science and environmental sciences. Prior to joining ispace – U.S., Elizabeth most recently served as the Chief of Staff – Vice President of Business Operations for World View, an Aerospace startup company pioneering un-crewed high altitude Stratospheric flight systems for a myriad of remote sensing applications. She holds a master’s in engineering (MEng) from Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Ricardo Woodbury is a seasoned finance professional overseeing the Finance, Accounting, and Information Technology functions for ispace – U.S. He has built a distinguished career navigating complex business environments, taking on progressively senior roles in industrial manufacturing, specialty chemicals, and aerospace. Ricardo’s experience spans government contracting, joint venture (JV) formation, financial management, and strategic operations. He holds a Master of Science in Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Western Michigan University and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Katie Lucas brings over 15 years of leadership and management experience, specializing in building foundational HR systems, scaling teams, and refining processes to support organizational growth. She is passionate about aligning people strategies with business goals to create workplaces where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to thrive. Originally from Georgia and now based in Denver, Katie enjoys spending time with her family and has a lifelong love of books.

Ananda has built and led world-class legal teams at both emerging growth and public companies in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, previously serving as General Counsel of space data and analytics company Spire Global (NYSE:SPIR), Senior Corporate Counsel, APAC at Amazon, and as a partner in the White Collar Investigations practice at Paul Hastings LLPs’ Shanghai office. A lifelong student of Japan, Ms. Martin majored in Japanese language at Washington University in St. Louis and holds an MA in Japanese history from Columbia University. She received her JD from Harvard Law School and is an alum of the Japan America Student Conference, a US-Japan Leadership Program Fellow, and a Japan Fulbright Fellow.

Mr. Dordain was the sixth Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) and was reappointed twice to the role by the ESA Council, serving in the role from 2003-2015. He has served in numerous government and academic roles throughout his career including the Executive Secretary of the Evaluation Committee of the Japanese space agency NASDA. In addition, he has received awards from several European governments for his service including the National Order of the Legion of Honour from the president of France. In addition, he has served as an honorary Vice President of the International Astronautical Federation and Chancellor of the International Space University.