Gopinath Raja

Gopinath Raja has extensive work experience in various roles and industries. Gopinath is currently the Chief at Corporate Venture Planning at Honda Motor Co., Ltd. In this role, they are responsible for heading investments and startup partnerships in Israel and the Asia-Pacific region as part of Honda's Corporate Venture Capital and Startup accelerator programs. Gopinath handles M&A screening, builds growth strategy and roadmaps, manages portfolios, and negotiates deals.

Prior to their current position, Gopinath was the Head of Corporate Business Development at Suzuki Motor Corporation from 2017 to 2022. Gopinath led the corporate expansion of three emerging business divisions, namely Personal Mobility, Agriculture, and Healthcare, and established venture partnerships in these fields. Gopinath also managed organization management for Suzuki Motor Corp. HQ, developed roadmaps, and implemented a new recruitment strategy for divisions focused on AI, robotics, and autonomous vehicles. Before this role, they served as an Assistant Manager at Corporate Planning at Suzuki Motor Corporation from 2017 to 2018, where they led venture partnerships for the Asia-Pacific region and managed the activities of Suzuki Startup Accelerator.

From 2014 to 2017, Gopinath worked as an Assistant Manager at Product Planning for the Japanese small hybrid vehicle division at Suzuki Motor Corporation. During this time, they supervised the planning of Japanese models Hustler, WagorR, and Spacia.

Prior to their roles at Suzuki, Gopinath worked as a Product Planning Specialist at ZMP Inc. from 2012 to 2014, an Overseas Teaching Assistant at Waseda University in 2011, and an Engineering Assistant at Pratt & Whitney in 2011.

Gopinath Raja's education history includes a Bachelor of Technology (BTech) degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad. Additionally, they obtained Executive Education in Business Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services from Harvard Business School. Gopinath also holds a Master of Science (MS) degree in Global Energy Economics from Waseda University.

In terms of certifications, Gopinath Raja has obtained the "高度専門職２号" certification from the Government of Japan in December 2021. Gopinath has also passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at N1 level, which was awarded by The Japan Foundation in January 2019.