EdTech JAPAN Global Pitch 2017

Ron Reed, Executive Producer and Director of SXSW EDU, has been involved in educational publishing and technology throughout his career. He has participated on the startup and management team of several educational technology companies and the experience led him to launch the SXSW EDU Conference & Festival in 2011. SXSW EDU quickly emerged as one of the world’s leading education events to foster innovations in learning by hosting a diverse and energetic community of stakeholders across a variety of backgrounds in education. By providing a platform for collaboration, SXSWedu works to promote creativity and social impact. Learn more at sxswedu.com

Andrew was born in New York City in 1967 and studied at the Bronx High School of Science, where he became a Westinghouse Science Talent Search semifinalist. He went onto the University of Virginia where he graduated in 1989. Andrew is one of the original co-inventors of the Cerego Learning Methodology and has several patents in his name. Prior to Cerego, Andrew founded AGOS Japan in 1989 (formerly known as The Princeton Review of Japan) – a prep school for Japanese students applying for MBA and graduate courses. He then co-founded Cerego in 2000. He wrote his first book in Japanese “Learn Faster, Remember Longer,” and he co-authored “Social Learning Revolution” in 2008 with Eric Young. Andrew heads Cerego’s global operations, and focuses on integrating their personalized learning platform across K12, higher ed, corporate, and government markets. He has presented at top industry events including SXSW, CES, EDUCAUSE, ASU/GSV, and EdTech Europe. Currently based in Palo Alto, he lived in Japan for 25 years and is fluent in Japanese.

Gaku founded RareJob, online ESL school, with his high school friend in 2007. He used Skype for this service and Filipino English tutors teach English to Japanese students from their houses. With vision of "Chances for everyone, everywhere" and mission of "Encourage 10million Japanese to speak fluent English", RareJob became the biggest online English school in Japan. On 2014 June, RareJob has been listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers Market. Gaku holds a B.E. and a M.E. both from The University of Tokyo.