Yoichiro Hibiya
CEO
Yoichiro Hibiya founded ETIC Inc. in 2004, where he has provided consulting services as a long-term reliable & global partner to Petrochemical Industry including rubber sectors worldwide. He is a frequent speaker at conferences at such as IISRP, presenting a wide range of topics and writing numerous articles. Mr Yo has also served in Abeam Consulting as the advisor to CEO.
Prior to ETIC foundation, he was responsible for overseas strategies, overseas planning & operation of elastomers and ABS resin in JSR.
He has a BS of Business degree from Keio University and completed the Executive Business Course at IMD Lausanne.
Expertise Business Strategy, M&A, Planning, Technology Licensing
Takahiro Murata
Head Of Strategy & Digital Transformation (DX)
Taka Murata is a global managing partner of ETIC with responsibility for running and growing the global business in Asia Pacific, Americas, Europe and the Middle East. He is based in Tokyo and serves a broad range of clients in multiple regions and functions with his work in Research & Development, Commercial & Marketing, Licensing & Engineering, Strategy & Planning and Operations & Business Development.
Before joining ETIC, he started his career in a business consulting unit at Andersen, a top-tier multinational management and professional service firm.
He is a frequent participant and speaker at international tire and rubber related conferences. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Keio University at Economics.
Expertise Technology Licensing, Business Strategy, M&A, Planning
Brian Kim JG
Vice President, Head Of Elastomer Technology Group
Brain Kim has technology-based commercial experiences from serving to petrochemical industry over 25 years.
His area of expertise is Sales Strategy, Strategic Planning, Marketing, Globalization & Regionalization (AP including SEA), Technology Mapping, Rubber & TPE, Compounding, R&D, Scale-up Technology and Anionic Polymerization Technology.
Prior to joining ETIC in 2019, Brian worked for multi-national companies such as Exxon, Dow, Lanxess, Korea Kumho Petrochemical as Area Sales Manager (SEA), Sales Developer (AP), Technical Service & Development (AP, Global), Technical marketing (AP) and R&D Manager.
He has MS in Polymer Chemistry and Engineering in Chonnam Univ., Korea and took a course work of MBA in Yonsei Univ., Korea.
Expertise Sales strategy, Marketing, Globalization, Elastomer Application & Polymerization, Technology Licensing
Dr. Iwakazu Hattori
Senior Consultant, Head Of Elastomer R&D Group
Dr. Hattori has been working as a senior consultant leading R&D team in ETIC since 2009 after he retired from JSR Corporation where he has mainly engaged in research and development of the solution polymerization rubber such as SBR, BR, SEBS, EPDM and hydrogenated (modified) block polymers. He also developed Modified SBR, Modified Nd-BR, syn-1,2-BR, Functionalized EPDM, catalysts of rubbers for low mileage tire, racing tire and truck tire, hydrogenation catalysts and hydrogenated modified polymers to improve the performance of PP, PET and took more than 120 patents. During his tenure at JSR, he was also a lecturer at Nagoya Institute of Technology, a Director of Society of Rubber Industry, Japan (SRIJ), a Director of Tokai Branch Office of SRIJ, and Chief Editor of Nippon Gomu Kyokaishi (Journal of SRIJ).
He holds Bachelor from Nagoya Institute of Technology at Faculty of Engineering and Doctor Degree of Chemical Environmental Engineering from of Tokyo Institute of Technology. A doctoral dissertation is “Syntheses of Copolymer using Carbon Disulfide and Sulfur Dioxide as a Comonomer”.
His article: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/gomu/88/6/88_227/_article/-char/ja
Masao Nakamura
Senior Consultant, Head Of Tire Technology
Masao Nakamura joined ETIC after previous positions in Bridgestone Corporation. He started his career in 1974. He was engaged in the construction, designing and development of mainly TBRs and radials for light trucks (LTRs) and partly PCR through most of the career. He headed the LTR Design Division as General Manager from 2000, and transferred design technologies to the company’s overseas technology centers in Akron and Rome. He was involved in product planning and the technical strategy for global marketing, and educated and trained young engineers as head of an in-house training facility. He retired Bridgestone in 2011 and joined ETIC. Graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Science & Engineering, Waseda University.
Expertise Tire Technology
MASANOBU TAKEDA
Senior Consultant, Head Of Engineering Group
He is currently CEO of his own company, Simuarts Corporation who is ETIC’s partner company and specialized in analysis of experimental & operating data, modeling & simulation, program development and process design recommendation.
Link:https://simuarts.co.jp/company_en
He started his business career with engineering for conceptual and basic design of chemical plant in Japanese petrochemical company, Kyowa Hakko as a senior process engineer for 10 years.
When he worked for Aspen Tech Japan as a director, business and engineering for 17 years, his has been professional to simulate petrochemical process using major simulation simulator such as Aspen Plus, HYSYS and HTFS) for major petrochemical companies in Asia such as Mitsubishi Chemical, Sumitomo Chemical, Mitsui Chemical, Asahi Kasei, PTT and SCC in Thailand, Petronas Malaysia, Reliance in India and others.
Then he enriched his background with consulting to improve profitability to energy industry when he was an engagement manager in McKinsey & Company, Japan for 3 years.
Before he found his own consulting company last year, he has taken the position of CEO in Wave Engineering Co., Ltd for 3 years to manage sales/solution service activities mainly to energy industries, National Institutes and Auto Industry representing KBR (Kellogg Brown & Roots as a reseller in Japan market.
He has Bachelor Degree of Osaka Prefecture University.
Expertise Project Management, Engineering, Process design, Modeling & Simulation for Chemical Production Process
Madoka Watanabe
Senior Consultant, Head Of Education & Training Group
Madoka Watanabe was graduated from the Faculty of Letters in University of Tokyo and her expertise are coaching facilitator, consultant, lecturer on logical thinking and communication skills.
Prior to joining ETIC, she was engaged in e-business planning and design & building of digital marketing platform in NEC Corporation. After that, she joined ABeam Consulting, where she was involved in corporate strategy, business strategy, planning, and business improvement in the strategic business department. She specializes in launching new businesses, drafting sales strategies, and conducting market research and analysis. Madoka also experienced in human resource development. After joining ETIC, she has been working as a consultant and training instructor, advising clients to solve problems, and training business skills such as diversity, leadership, and communication.
Expertise Corporate Strategy, Planning, Market Research & Analysis, Training business skills
Christopher Lewis
Advisor to CEO, Legal
Christopher is a solicitor under the laws of England and Wales, and has been a Gaikoku Jimu Bengoshi (registered foreign lawyer) in Japan since 1999. With previous investment banking experience, he has been a Partner at Simmons & Simmons in London and Hong Kong and at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Sidley Austin Brown & Wood in Tokyo. He has wide experience of banking and securities law and regulation; new issue and other corporate finance work; company acquisitions, disposals and restructurings; and a variety of commercial ventures, including joint venture and licensing work.
He holds BCL and MA degrees from Hertford College, Oxford.
Expertise Banking, Securities law, Regulation, M&A, Restructuring, JV
Utpal Paul
Advisor to CEO, India Region
Utpal Paul joined ETIC Inc. in 2009 and has been working as a partner in India for Tyre and Synthetic Rubber industry. He has started his career with Goodyear Tyres of UK in 1965 and moved to Modi Continental Tyre , Apollo Tyres as Quality Control Manager. He joined ExxonMobil Chemical in 1986 as Business Development Manager to promote Butyl and EPDM Rubber in Indian subcontinent. Exxon recognized market growth in India and awarded him President’s award in 1991 and subsequently in 1992 he has been promoted to Group Leader of Asia Pacific’s Application Technology Center at Tsurumi, Yokohama, Japan, and worked until 1999. Utpal has retired from ExxonMobil in 2002 and joined Reliance Industries Ltd, India as an Advisor in their Synthetic Rubber Business.
He is a graduate in Polymer Science & Technology from National College of Rubber Technology , London and Institute of Rubber Industries , UK .
Expertise Marketing Strategy, QC, R&D Tool & Strategy, Rubber Compounding & Application
Morihiro Murata
Senior Advisor, Audit
Morihiro Murata, CPA and Tax attorney has had over 50years of experience in the area of audit and tax. Key areas of his experience are international tax planning for multinational companies, transfer pricing study and competent authority negotiations with tax authorities. Mr. Murata was the managing partner of “KPMG Tax Corporation”, a member firm of KPMG International. In addition, Mr. Murata has served as an outside director for several listed companies.
Mr. Murata has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Keio University and completed Executive Education Program of the Harvard Business School.
Richyard Xie
Advisor to CEO, China Region
Richyard Xie has technology-based commercial experiences from serving to petrochemical and semiconductor industry over 20years. he joined ETIC Inc. in 2019 and has been working as a partner in China for Tyre and Synthetic Rubber industry. He started his career with Great China Region Elastomer Manager of JSR corporation in 2000 and moved to Electronic Material department in charge of Photoresist and CMP materials for Semiconductor industry from 2004. After he left JSR, he founded his company in 2012, focusing on the development of new elastomer materials for high-speed railway and semiconductor applications, such as graphene elastomer materials, perfluorinated rubber sealing applications, etc.
He is a graduate in Fine Chemistry from Shanghai JiaoTong University, China, and get MBA Master from Royal Road University, Canada.
His expertise lies in Sales strategy, Marketing Strategy and R&D Tool & Strategy for Elastomer Compounding & Application.
