Senior Members

Investment/Account Management

New York

Takuma Aoyama

CIO, CEO
Mr. Aoyama is the founder of AIFAM Group, a global asset manager focused on alternative assets. Mr. Aoyama has spearheaded investments across the liquidity spectrum from hedge funds to private equity and venture capital. Prior to founding AIFAM, Mr. Aoyama was at UBS Global Asset Management in Chicago (then, Head Quarters) and Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan (US/Japan). MBA from University of Chicago, MS from Dartmouth College

Sanjay Mitta

Portfolio Manager
Mr. Mitta joined AIFAM in 2007 and is responsible for due diligence of funds and management of AIFAM’s investment products. He is also responsible for research and analysis of co-investment opportunities and direct investments. He has worked as a corporate finance analyst at UBS Warburg and worked in private equity and venture capital at Think Capital LLC, GE Energy Financial Services and Comdisco Ventures. MBA from Columbia University, BA in Economics from Columbia University

Gregory Scimeca

Senior Analyst
Mr. Scimeca joined AIFAM in 2015 and is responsible for due diligence and investment opportunities in credit. Previously, he was a credit analyst at Hermes BPK Inc. BS in Finance from Fordham University

David Lane

Senior Analyst

Mr. Lane joined AIFAM in 2016 and is responsible for due diligence of funds and investment opportunities. Prior to AIFAM, he was at Stifel, Nicolaus and its predecessor Knight Capital. Prior to that, he was involved in trade operations for fixed income and equity at Ticonderoga Securities, UBS Wealth Management and Macquarie Capital Group. In addition, he analyzed Ramius Capital Group’s merger arbitrage strategy as a consultant. BS in Business Logistics and International Business from Pennsylvania State University

Chris D. Mroz, CFA

Senior Analyst

Mr. Mroz is responsible for due diligence on investment opportunities at AIFAM. Previously, he worked as a Senior Analyst and Portfolio Manager for HGCI Ventures LLC, a single family office. Prior to that, he founded and managed CDM Capital LLC, a long short equity hedge fund, and also worked as an analyst in the institutional valuation group at J.P. Morgan. Mr. Mroz holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. MBA from Syracuse University – Frankel Scholar; BS in Economics from University of Missouri, Columbia

Yoshitsugu Shitaka Ph.D.

Executive Advisor to AIFAM
(Life Science Investments)
Mr. Shitaka was Astellas’ Chief Scientific Officer and Head of the Research Organization. While leading a global team of scientists and researchers at Astellas, he has been the Chairperson of Forum for Innovative Regenerative Medicine (FIRM of Japan) since June 2023. BS, MS, Ph.D., in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Tokyo

Tokyo

Go Sato

Executive Director
Mr. Sato joined AIFAM in 2013 and is responsible for due diligence of funds and management of AIFAM’s investment products. Prior to AIFAM, he was a senior analyst at SAC Capital Advisors in Hong Kong, managing a market neutral portfolio in Japanese equities. He has previously worked at UBS Securities Japan’s Equities Division Proprietary Trading Team as a Director, and in the Investment Banking Division M&A Team as a junior analyst. BS in Electrical Engineering from the Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science at Columbia University.

Taro Masunaga, Ph.D.

Executive Director (Life Science Investments)
Mr. Masunaga was Executive Vice President and Head of Discovery Accelerator at Astellas Pharma Inc prior to joining AIFAM. While at Astellas, he had multiple global roles as research leadership, venture capitalist, early stage business development and strategy & portfolio. Ph.D. from Hokkaido University, BS from Kyushu University

Shinobu Mori, Ph.D.

Director (Life Science Investments)

Ms. Mori was Vice President and Head of Science Intelligence & Solutions, Discovery Accelerator at Astellas, a Japanese Pharmaceutical company. While leading its initiative of venture unit at Astellas, she was dedicated and involved in development of drug discovery ecosystem in Japan. Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Tohoku University

Risk Management and Operations​

Michael Hanisch

Director of Operations
Mr. Hanisch joined AIFAM in 2018 and he heads the operations team, which includes fund administration, accounting, and compliance. Prior to AIFAM, he was head of operations at Analytical Research, an investment advisor to European pensions. Prior to that, he held senior level positions in hedge fund administration, operations, and fund accounting at Aviva Investors, UBP Asset Management, and PineBridge Asset Management (formerly AIG investments). BS in Finance from Franklin Pierce University

Yuki Misaki

Director of Operations（Tokyo）
Mr. Misaki joined AIFAM Group in 2007 and has been responsible for back-office operation for wide range of alternative fund investment from Hedge Fund to Venture Capital. Prior to AIFAM, he was a system engineer and involved with various system development projects in financial institutions.

Kamil Dlugosz

Senior Operations Manager
Mr. Dlugosz joined AIFAM in 2018 as a member of the operations team, which includes fund administration, accounting, and compliance. Prior to AIFAM, he worked in operations and operational due diligence at Analytical Research, an investment advisor to European pensions. BS in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Stony Brook University