2023-07-31 

Shigeki KUZUOKA 

To all those that have warmly supported me, 

Greetings to you all. Thank you so much for all your kind assistance. 

As of July 31, I have made the decision to step down from my post as President of Satellite Business Network and as Head of SAS EUROCONSULT Japan Office. Both of these posts will now be filled by Mr. Atsushi MURAKAMI going forward. Mr. MURAKAMI has heretofore been our senior consultant. 

Ten years have passed since Satellite Business Network (SBN) first opened its doors. Meanwhile, I have just turned 70 years of age. Given that timing, perhaps it’s my last chance to shift gears into something else. When I started SBN 10 years ago, right after conventional retirement, I thought SBN would be my last job. Thanks to the work of all of you, SBN was able to continue for 10 years and onward. Against this backdrop, I thought that I should perhaps simply continue at SBN in the current capacity, but I realized that this might be my last chance to shift gears into something new. 

My life so far is one that has been action-packed with everything regarding space technology and space business. But at this age, after a life of continuous learning via university and elsewhere, I think it’s time to start something new. Despite our shared passion for the abyss above us, there is a world outside of space as well, and this is a world that I think I should explore more, so as to discover new things. At present, however, what I will do exactly is not yet clear. But I find pleasure in NOT knowing that, as that is part of the adventure! If you have any new and interesting suggestions, please feel free to relay them to me. 

Close to exactly 10 years ago, in April 2013, I founded Satellite Business Network, as a sole proprietorship. Utilizing my 35 years of experience as an engineer directly in charge of fields such as satellite development and satellite utilization at firms ranging from Mitsubishi Electric and Image One to NEC, SBN marked my first foray into the world of consulting and working for myself, as a vocation after retirement. Fortunately, I was humbled to be provided with such warm support from everyone that I met. I recall one of my first tasks: taking charge of overseas market research and the examination of aircraft SAR and the use of cloud technology for satellite data processing—at the time, I hadn’t really known much about such technology! 

SBN started as a sole proprietorship, but as our customer list grew, including governments and large companies, the pressure to incorporate became evident. So, on June 2, 2014, one year after starting, I incorporated, embarking on full-scale consulting business as “Satellite Business Network.” 

Then, at the same time that the category of “New Space” popped up using smallsats and making big waves in the United States, several startups in the space domain had already been established in Japan. To be honest, from my experience as an engineer at a large company, I had the feeling that nothing more was possible with smallsats. However, as you all know, the development of the “New Space” field became rapid after that, and in no time we entered an era in which smallsats and conventional large satellites easily coexisted. In this era of great change, SBN’s first mission was to quickly capture overseas trends, mainly in the United States and Europe, and to relay those insights to everyone in Japan. As a result, I started attending conferences in Europe and the United States. 

I was also approached by a person from EUROCONSULT, someone who had been my friend for a long time, and they 

asked if I would like to open an office in Japan. Then, as a result of coordination with the Embassy of France in Japan, Euroconsult Japan Office was officially registered in Japan on January 1, 2015 as a branch office of EUROCONSULT. 

Subsequently, under the two banners of SBN and Euroconsult Japan Office, business chugged away, and before I knew it, three friends of mine, Mr. Atsushi MURAKAMI, Mr. Tsuyoshi OISHI, and Mr. Yoshifumi GOTO, soon joined, supporting me the whole way up to now. Up to that moment, I had been working in my capacity mostly as an Earth observation engineer, but all of a sudden, my activities expanded to include not only satellite communications, transportation, and exploration but also technology and business consultation. I was guided by my customers, and I was learning new things every day. In particular, in emphasizing relationships with overseas companies and helping non-Japanese companies enter the Japanese space market, I was happy to be having one foot in a field completely different from space and space technology, such as due diligence for startup companies and B-to-B matching. 

So, I want to say thank you to everyone for these last 10 years. I hope to see all of you in some new world in the future, and I would like to have this new life be a vehicle where there is an opportunity to connect with all of you again. 

Last but not least, I would like to conclude these greetings by wishing everyone good health, business success, and the furthered development of the space business itself.