Neoteny Blog

Established:	December 1999
Capital:	¥10,000,000
Head office:	3F Plaza Mikado, 2-14-5 Akasaka Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 MAP
Chairman:	Jun Makihara
President & CEO:	Joichi Ito
Board Members:	Joichi Ito, Jun Makihara Paul S. Slawson, EastPoint Capital Management Elmer Fisher, Senior Advisor to the Chairman/CEO, Deloitte Consulting
No. of Employees:	2
Business Description:	Investing in, developing and supporting information technology businesses. (We have completed investing our current capital and are focused on managing the current portfolio.)
History:	Dec.1999: Neoteny Co., Ltd. launched with capitalization of ¥1,030,000,000. Jan. 2000: Incubation business launched Jul. 2000: Capitalization increased to ¥ 1,060,000,000 Sep.2000: Capitalization increased to ¥ 1,330,000,000 Feb.2001: Capitalization increased to ¥ 2,155,000,000 Apr.2001: Capitalization increased to ¥ 2,355,000,000 Mar.2004: Capitalization decrease to ¥ 10,000,000
Neoteny:	Neoteny is the retention of childlike attributes into adulthood. Such attributes include sensitivity, curiosity, creativity, humor, wonder, joy, imagination and playfulness. We believe having these childlike attributes are essential to identifying and creating value because they enable people and organizations to embrace the intense change caused by the dynamic effects of technology on our society. See Harvard Business School article about the relationship between Neoteny and leadership. Are Business Schools Really Important "Crucibles of Leadership?" HBSWK Pub. Date: Sep 30, 2002 by Jim Heskett The new book Geeks and Geezers by Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas, argues that all the leaders they studied, whether "geeks" (under thirty) or "geezers" (over seventy), have the ability to engage others in shared meaning; a distinctive and compelling voice; a sense of integrity; and "neoteny," a trait that makes them "addicted to life" and able to recruit protectors, nurturers, and believers through a long and productive leadership career.