About

Kaoru is the Manager for Northeast Asia at AVPN. She brings extensive experience in strategic project management with a strong focus on sustainability, social impact, and business transformation for inclusive and sustainable growth across Japan and Southeast Asia.

Kaoru has worked at the intersection of sustainability and global supply chains in both the private and nonprofit sectors. She has led initiatives in supply chain sustainability, cross-sector stakeholder engagement, capacity-building, and social impact investing.

Prior to joining AVPN, Kaoru worked with multinational corporations in Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan. She is currently a technical member at ARUN Seed, a leading nonprofit organisation in Japan, where she co-led biodiversity-focused fundraising and business competitions for seed and early-stage startups across the globe.

Fluent in Japanese, English, and Korean, Kaoru brings deep regional insights, a systems-thinking mindset, and a strong commitment to AVPN’s mission of enabling cross-sector collaboration to mobilise capital towards impact in Northeast Asia and the broader Asia region. She thrives in diverse, multidisciplinary environments and is passionate about driving systemic change by empowering emerging leaders and engaging senior professionals to build a more inclusive and sustainable future.

She holds a Master’s degree in International Studies with a concentration in Sustainability from Seoul National University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Commerce from Waseda University. She was also selected for the McKinsey Next Generation Women Leaders Asia-Pacific Programme. Outside of work, Kaoru enjoys practicing yoga and is an aspiring instructor of ikebana, the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement.