Jay Onda has left Docomo Capital, a corporate venturing subsidiary of mobile network NTT Docomo, to take up a position at automotive and motor manufacturer Yamaha, which has also recruited other Silicon Valley venture insiders George Kellerman and Amish Parashar.
The move follows two years as principal at Docomo Capital, a position he assumed roughly a year after joining Docomo Innovations as a business development consultant. Onda previously worked as a senior engineer at wireless network technology provider Apprion for six years.
Onda will act as director of strategic investments at Yamaha’s corporate venturing unit, Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory (YMVSV), in Silicon Valley, according to his LinkedIn account. By email ahead of a call Onda said: “I’m humbled and honored to be part of this new venture and to work with an A+ team.”
YMVSV is led by Hiroshi Saijou, who set up the unit last month after nearly 20 years experience at Yamaha and a year of scouting the Valley.
Kellerman, who is fluent in Japanese, will be general partner and director of operations at YMVSV after moving this month from Crystal Tech and two years as managing partner at seed fund 500 Startups, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Parashar is YMVSV’s new venture partner and director of strategic business development having previously spending four years as director of innovation and strategy at Triple Ring Technologies, a “secretive, 120-person, private R&D lab based in Silicon Valley and Boston,” his profile said.
– Photo of Jay Onda courtesy of LinkedIn