Tanaka3

I’m a finance and strategy leader with experience across investment banking, investing, and startup executive roles, focused on helping companies scale through disciplined capital strategy and strong execution. My core strengths are fundraising, M&A and structuring, financial planning and governance, and investor communications—especially in situations where stakeholders, incentives, and timelines are complex. I began my career in global investment banking, working on corporate finance and strategic transactions for both public and private companies. In that environment, I built a rigorous foundation in valuation, financial modeling, deal structuring, and negotiation. More importantly, I learned how to align executives, investors, legal counsel, and internal teams toward a decision, and how to drive processes to completion under high standards and tight deadlines. I later moved into the investment side, where I evaluated growth opportunities and supported portfolio companies beyond the initial investment decision. I worked closely with management teams to identify the true bottlenecks to growth—capital strategy, KPI design, business planning, org design, and governance—and helped translate ambitious visions into operational plans that could withstand investor scrutiny. In executive roles at high-growth startups, I served as CFO/CSO, leading fundraising, business planning, management reporting, and stakeholder management. In an AI-focused company, I led a major financing round and built an equity story that resonated with sophisticated investors. I’m comfortable operating beyond “standard VC fundraising,” including PE-style expectations: deeper diligence, higher bar strategic narratives, and detailed multi-year plans tied to measurable performance. I’ve also navigated cross-border dynamics and the cultural expectations that often determine whether a deal moves forward or stalls. Today, I work with multiple companies as an advisor and finance partner, supporting capital raising, M&A execution, and strategic planning. I’m not just a “finance function”—I focus on business outcomes: improving capital efficiency, strengthening governance, and building credible plans that management can execute and investors can trust. My approach combines strategic clarity with practical delivery: setting the right narrative, backing it with numbers, and ensuring the operating cadence makes it real. I aim to be the partner who helps leadership teams make high-quality decisions faster—whether that means tightening a capital strategy, preparing for a major round, negotiating complex terms, or building the internal systems that enable sustained growth.