Japanese firm Sansan names regional CEO to drive Asia expansion

Sansan, a Japanese provider of cloud-based contact management solutions, has appointed Edward Senju as its regional CEO to drive growth in Singapore and Asia.

Fourth from left: Sansan regional CEO Edward Senju / Photo credit: Sansan

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With Senju’s appointment, Sansan aims to grow its headcount and client base in Singapore.

“Following our company’s vision to go global, we’re focused on expansion within Asia and using Singapore as a key base from which we can grow in the region,” Senju said in a statement.

“We want to replicate the growth we’ve had in Japan in other Asian markets, including Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, by staying focused on customer needs and revenue growth,” he added.

Sansan’s platform enables companies to scan and organize business cards into a proprietary AI-informed database. The company is one of Japan’s most-funded tech startups, having generated over US$120 million in funding before its IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in June, it claims. Its investors include Goldman Sachs, Salesforce, Nikkei, Japan Post Capital, and SBI Investment, among others.

Senju was one of Sansan’s first employees in 2009, where he worked on projects – including the company’s seed funding round – while he was in the finance team. He also helped to bring the company’s consumer app and professional social network, Eight, into market.

Launched in 2007, Sansan was founded by CEO Chika Terada who wanted “to create a world where people better connect with their connections, better network with their network, and never miss an opportunity.”

Today, Sansan claims it holds an 80% share of the Japanese market, with almost 6,000 companies using its solutions.