Management

Mark J. Lerner, President
Takashi Kobayashi, Partner / Tokyo Office
Phil Jones, Managing Director / Tokyo Office

Senior Advisors
“Super” Yamaguchi, Senior Advisor / Tokyo Office
Yutaka Yamashina, Advisor / Tokyo Office
Kosaku Ujihara, Advisor / Tokyo Office


Mark J. Lerner, President
lerner@morgenevan.com

Prior to establishing Morgen, Evan & Company in 1992, Mr. Lerner was the Managing Director and head of the Japan Corporate Finance Group at Chase Manhattan Bank. Before that, he served as the head of the Japan Group of the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch from 1982-1989. His international banking career started with Banker's Trust Company in 1976. Mr. Lerner has been deeply involved in the Asian markets for more than 25 years and is a frequent speaker at professional conferences dealing with Japan/U.S. relations. He has spoken on the development of technology partnerships in Asia for the Government of Canada/Department of Foreign Affairs, and has also worked closely with the Canadian Advanced Technology Association (CATA).

Mr. Lerner is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Vassar College art museum - the third largest college/university art museum in the United States. He also serves as a member of the Executive Board of Directors of M&A International, Inc., the world's leading alliance of independent M&A advisors with membership in over 35 countries. Mr. Lerner was the previous Chairman of M&A International from 2004 to 2005 and is currently the Vice President in charge of the Asia Pacific region.

Mr. Lerner received an MBA in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania , and an AB in Applied Mathematics from Vassar College.



Takashi Kobayashi, Partner / Tokyo Office
kobayashi@morgenevan.com

Mr. Kobayashi has joined Morgen, Evan and Company as a partner in the Tokyo office. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Kobayashi was the founder and president of Rimnet in Japan. His active involvement in the introduction of new technologies and new projects has proved to be an asset to Morgen, Evan and Company, when assessing our clients’ needs.

Mr. Kobayashi is very involved in various sectors, from Technology to Healthcare. Mr. Kobayashi is also a frequent guest speaker at various conferences held in Japan.

In Japan, Takashi Kobayashi is regarded as one of the brightest entrepreneurs of his generation and in March of 1998, he was awarded the honor of PhD from Newport Asia Pacific University.



Phil Jones, Managing Director / Tokyo Office
jones@morgenevan.com

Mr. Jones is the Managing Director at Morgen, Evan & Company in the Tokyo office. He is a logistics industry veteran.

Prior to his position at Morgen, Evan & Company, Mr. Jones was a Senior Consultant at WorldPort Services (www.wpsvs.com) in Tokyo, a company that specializes in assisting Japanese business organizations to rationalize their operations via the adoption of global best practices. Having joined WorldPort in 2000, Mr. Jones has led various long-term projects including the redesign of Guidant Japan KK’s management performance evaluation system, and the redesign of the company’s product fulfillment and inventory control systems. Prior to WorldPort Mr. Jones spent seven years with Kintetsu World Express with his most recent position having been Vice President and General Manager, Kintetsu World Express (Beijing). Prior to Kintetsu, Mr. Jones worked for seven years in sales management positions at Northwest Airlines and seven years for Flying Tigers (a company later purchased by Federal Express) in sales and operations positions.

Mr. Jones received his master of business administration (Asia-focused) degree from the University of Hawaii and his BA in political science from the University of Rhode Island. Mr. Jones has passed the Japan Ministry of Education’s 2nd highest (business level) Japanese proficiency exam. Mr. Jones currently serves as Chairperson of the American Chamber in Japan’s (ACCJ) Asia Business Committee.


“Super” Yamaguchi, Senior Advisor / Tokyo Office
yamaguchi@morgenevan.com

Mr. Y. "Super" Yamaguchi has joined Morgen, Evan & Company in Japan as a Senior Advisor. During the last 41 years, Mr. Yamaguchi has had a distinguished career at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. In his last position prior to his retirement earlier this year, he served as Senior Managing Director and General Manager of the Digital Broadcasting Business Group. He has also recently served as Managing Director and General Manager of the Multimedia Business Development Group, as well as General Manager of both the Overseas Marketing Group and the International Operations Group.

Additionally, Super's previous work in the U.S. as the head of Mitsubishi Electric America for 10 years, provided him with a good understanding of international transactions and business relationships with American corporations.

Prior to joining Mitsubishi Electric, Mr. Yamaguchi received a degree in Law from Tokyo University. He will also continue to serve Mitsubishi Electric as a senior advisor in the coming years. His broad experience, his professionalism, and his support for our firm are all tremendous assets of Morgen, Evan & Company.


Yutaka Yamashina, Advisor / Tokyo Office
yamashina@morgenevan.com

Mr. Yutaka Yamashina serves as an Advisor to the Tokyo office of Morgen, Evan & Company, Inc. Prior to holding his current position, Mr. Yamashina was the representative for the Business Design Corporation that provides private financing and business-consulting services to venture companies located primarily in the Osaka area. Between 1988-1994, Mr. Yamashina focused on incubating SMEs and venture companies for Asahi Shinwa & Co., a leading Japanese accounting firm, presently called Asahi & Co. and a member of Arthur Andersen. In 1987, he joined Societe Generale Securities as an opening member of the Japan office. His responsibilities included underwriting Euro warrants and the listing of Japanese companies on the Paris Stock Exchange. Mr. Yamashina gained extensive experience making private investments into new venture and SMEs, in Osaka and foreign countries, while working for JAFCO, the largest venture capital firm in Japan, from 1981-1987.

Mr. Yamashina received his MBA from Columbia University in 1980 and his BA from Kobe University in 1979. In addition, he graduated from the College of Engineering of Osaka Prefecture University in 1971.

Mr. Yamashina serves as a lecturer at Osaka City University, Osaka Electric Communication University and the Venture School of Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI). He is an active board member for the Planning and Management Committee for the Global Venture Forum of OCCI and the Venture Company Review Committee of the Osaka City Government.


Kosaku Ujihara, Advisor / Tokyo Office
ujihara@morgenevan.com

Prior to joining Morgen, Evan & Company, Inc. as an advisor with the Tokyo office, Mr. Kosaku Ujihara was the Director and Chief Representative for Baring Brothers Ltd. Representative office in Japan. While Head of ING Barings Japanese operations in Corporate Finance and Capital Markets, Mr. Ujihara advised major Japanese companies, such as Suntory and Fuji Photo Film, as well as overseas companies in major acquisitions and strategic activities.

In addition, he was a board member of Orix Captial, a venture capital company, as well as Suntory-Allied Domecq, a joint food venture between the UK and Japan. Mr. Ujihara graduated from Waseda University in 1971 and has been a special Lecturer for Sheffiled University, UK in the Centre of Japanese studies.
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