About Us - Shigeki Kuzuoka

Profile: Founder and President

• Over 30 years of experience in space business, with a particular focus on earth observation, including business development, sales, and technology consultation. Mr. Kozuoka’s career spans 17 years at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, 13 years at ImageONE, and 4 years at NEC Corporation.
• Fostered a change in business model from system development to space business services at the above-mentioned corporations.
• Extensive professional experience working with global companies outside of Japan, in both developed and emerging countries.
• Academic research and teaching experience at national research institutes and universities, in addition to commercial enterprises.
• Maintains an extensive, global network of personal contacts within the space business and research community.

Professional Experience

2013-Present: As an individual consultant – Satellite Business Network

• Provides technical consulting and support services for space industry companies and government organizations, including space policy and strategy, market surveys, market development, and overseas business development.
• Provides space technology startup support, including planning, implementation, management, and evaluations.

In addition to the above-mentioned consulting services, Mr. Kuzuoka also serves as an affiliate and permantent representative in Japan for the following companies:

• EuroConsult : Satellite Business Network serves as the Japan Office for Euroconsult, a globally active space business consulting and market research company.
• Tele-Rilevamento Europa: A worldwide land surface monitoring company that utilizes InSAR technologies.

2009-2013: Technology Executive at NEC Corporation

Engaged in business development and user requirements hearings towards designing a complete solution design, mainly for emerging countries. This design utilized small satellites, ground sensors, cloud systems, networks, and simulations for:

• Disaster monitoring/mitigation solutions
• Agriculture monitoring solutions
• Land subsisdence monitoring solutions
• Data swap business for an ASEAN EO satelitte constellation

2009-2013: Visiting professor at Cyber University

Established a lecture and exercise course about Remote Sensing Technology

Established a lecture and experience course about Geo-spatial Technology

1995-2009: Principal engineer for remote sensing program at ImageONE

• Main responsibilities included business development, user requirements hearings, specifications definition, consulting, and project implementation while working with non-Japanese companies.
• Business development & marketing for new remote sensing services
• Converted ImageONE’s business model from system development to services.
• Managed all technical aspects and projects for the company’s new data business, for Radarsat and SPOT
• Managed rice taste monitoring projects
• Managed land deformation monitoring projects with UK and Italian companies
• Developed remote sensing systems in Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia with Canadian, US, and French companies, as a project manager for:
  • Radarsat
  • SPOT
  • OrbView
  • JESR-1, and others

2004-2008: Visiting researcher at National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED)

2008: Visiting lecturer for Remote Sensing at Mie University

1993-1995: Engineering manager, Remote Sensing Systems (seconded by Mitsubishi Electric Corp.) at Earth Resources Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC)

Project management alongside operation and maintenance team, Japan Earth Resources Satellite-1 (JERS-1) data processing systems, in Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Designed the ASTER processing system, algorithms in particular, alongside NASA team members

1979-1996: Systems engineer, Remote Sensing at Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

• Developed SAR data processing software while serving as a systems engineer (1980-1983)
• Developed the first SAR software using a super computer – CRAY-1 in Japan
• Developed the Marine Observation Satellite-1 (MOS-1) data processing system while serving as a project engineer (1984-1989)
• Developed the JERS-1 data SAR processing system while serving as a project engineer (1990-1993)

1975: Completed a two-month internship at the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE) at Honeywell Bull, Paris, France

Others

2010-2012: Served as a member of the Board of Directors, Remote Sensing Society of Japan (RSSJ)
 
2006: Received Researcher Award from the RSSJ
 
2006-2007: Became a member of the Board of Directors, RSSJ
 
2000-2002: Served as Secretary of the Remote Sensing Industrialization Committee in RSSJ
 
1992: Certified as a consultant engineer, information technology by the Japanese government