Hiroshi Saijou, CEO and managing director of Japan-based small-vehicle producer Yamaha Motor’s corporate venturing arm, Yamaha Motor Ventures & Lab in Silicon Valley (YMVSV), has moved positions to chairman.
Saijou, a founder of YMVSV who featured on GCV’s 2016 and 2018 Powerlists, will also be general manager of new business development at Yamaha Motor. George Kellerman, formerly chief operating officer and general partner at YMVSV, will take on Saijou’s previous roles.
Kellerman told Global Corporate Venturing: “We launched a new $100m fund last month and moved to a larger office with a garage and workshop space two months ago, so we are definitely growing and expanding our influence within Yamaha Motor.
“We are putting an increased emphasis on investing and we are going to be opening two to four international branch offices over the next year or two.”
Regarding Saijou’s new position, Kellerman added: “Hiro…is actually moving to Yamaha Motor USA to become general manager of new business development, which will become the internal organisation to which YMVSV can hand off startups and projects.
“Without someone to receive those startups or projects, they will just die on the vine, so Hiro is building phase two of our global corporate venturing activities.”
Before founding YMVSV, Saijou was a division manager at Yamaha’s US-based office, having already worked for Yamaha Motor in Japan for two decades.
Photo of Hiroshi Saijou courtesy of YMVSV.
