Kei Shibata Co-founder & CEO Venture Republic – TRAVEL.jp & Trip101 Tokyo-born travel and technology entrepreneur based in Singapore and Tokyo, with over 20 years of experience in the travel and tech space. Kei has led his company through an IPO, MBO, two exits, and an acquisition. As founding CEO of Venture Republic, he oversees a portfolio of global online travel businesses, including TRAVEL.jp, Japan’s largest travel metasearch and travel guide media; Trip101, a Singapore-based international travel guide media; and HistoricStays101, a platform for booking the world’s most beautiful historic hotels and heritage properties. In 2008, he took Venture Republic public in Japan after seven years of operations. In 2018, the company entered a strategic partnership with LINE Corporation, one of Asia’s leading messaging platforms. In 2019, Kei was inducted into the WiT Hall of Fame, recognizing his influential contributions to the advancement and professionalism of the digital travel industry in Asia Pacific. He is also an active angel investor in travel and tech startups and serves on the board of several ventures, including Singapore-based BeMyGuest. Kei co-founded and co-organizes WiT Japan & North Asia, a leading international conference focused on the intersection of travel and technology in the region. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Keio University, where he also founded the alumni association for startup founders and CEOs. An avid backcountry snowboarder, Nordic and alpine skier, he is passionate about jazz, coffee, and working remotely from vacation homes.