Team

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Kazuki Watanabe

Co-founder

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Countries of Professional Experience

Philippines, Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan

Career Summary

Selected “Forbes 100 Japanese People Changing Asia”
Co-founder, MeRISE Inc. — the largest language school for working professionals in the Philippines
Lecturer (Entrepreneurship), Fukuoka University
Lecturer, The Graduate School of Project Design
Lecturer (Social Entrepreneurial Mind), Jissen Women's University

A hybrid business leader combining strategic expertise developed as a PE-fund-backed strategy consultant with hands-on experience in launching and scaling ventures across Southeast Asia. For over a decade, he has led business creation, turnarounds, and value creation initiatives across multiple companies.

At Dogan Advisors (now Dogan), he served as a management strategy consultant and fund operations professional, deeply involved in a wide range of investment activities including venture capital, succession planning, and business restructuring. Beyond post-investment strategy design, he held multiple board positions at portfolio companies, committing hands-on to execution and driving meaningful enterprise value growth.

Recognizing the long-term potential of Southeast Asia, he later co-founded United ReGrowth Inc. (now MeRISE Inc.) in the Philippines. As Director and COO, he built from scratch a language education business for working professionals—now the largest of its kind in the country, with more than 10,000 graduates. He oversaw all aspects of the venture, including local entity setup, product development, organizational build-out, and marketing strategy, establishing a proven operating model for sustainable growth in emerging markets.

He currently serves as President of IMPACT ASIA, Inc. Guided by the purpose, “Transforming lives through learning, with the world as a classroom,” he focuses on developing and operating human capital–focused programs, contributing to talent development and human capital enhancement across Japan and Southeast Asia.