Susumu Kitagawa
Bay Area Networks Inc
Funder & CEO
I help global IT and SaaS companies enter and scale in the Japan market.
Many companies struggle not because of the opportunity —
but because of early-stage misalignment in GTM and execution.
I work directly with leadership teams of companies planning to enter the Japan market to:
- Design go-to-market strategies
- Develop early adopter customers
- Build partner ecosystems
- Structure local teams in Japan
With over 30 years of experience in enterprise IT and SaaS, I have built and scaled Japan operations for global companies, including:
- Built and scaled a Japan team from 1 to 50 employees within a few years
- Built a $30M+ annual revenue business in Japan across software and SaaS, from the ground up within five years
- Leading both partner-driven and customer-driven GTM strategies with enterprise customers and major Japanese resellers
I have built strong executive-level relationships with enterprise customers and leading partners in Japan.
This enables faster access to early customers and strategic partners — often the most difficult part of entering the market.
I have served as Head of the Japan subsidiaries of U.S.-based IT companies.
My approach is hands-on and execution-focused — working alongside clients not just to advise, but to drive outcomes.
If Japan expansion is on your roadmap, feel free to reach out.
I have seen what works — and what fails — in Japan market entry
