Eiko Ooka

Background

About Eiko Ooka

Eiko Ooka is Managing Director of Digital Strategy Department at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). He leads the Group’s corporate venture capital (CVC) initiatives in the United States, with a strategic focus on fintech, B2B software, and artificial intelligence.Most recently, Eiko served as General Manager of the Corporate Advisory Department in Tokyo, where he provided strategic and financial advisory services to leading Japanese companies in the basic materials and infrastructure sectors.With over 25 years of experience in banking, capital markets, cross-border M&A, and innovation strategy, Eiko brings deep expertise in connecting Japanese corporations with global innovation. For more than a decade, he has been deeply engaged in the U.S. innovation ecosystem, fostering relationships with startups, venture capital and private equity firms, and the broader technology communities.He played a founding role in establishing SMBC’s Corporate Advisory platform in the U.S, growing it from a one-person operation into a two-hub presence across New York and Silicon Valley. During this period, he was instrumental in launching SMFG’s Innovation Lab in Silicon Valley and driving LP investments into U.S. venture capital funds.Eiko holds a BA in Law from Waseda University and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is committed to enabling innovation-driven growth through trusted, cross-border partnerships that shape the future of the industry.Skilled in Corporate Finance, Strategic Planning, M&A, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Leveraged Finance, Market Research, and Asset & Liability Management.