Takeshi Hakamada is an entrepreneur at the forefront of commercial space business. He is the Founder and CEO of ispace inc, a Japanese startup competing for Google Lunar XPRIZE. His expertise lies in planning ahead, systems engineering and collaborative leadership. Growing up with a love for Star Wars, Hakamada envisages a world where ships like the Millennium Falcon fly between planets. After hearing about Ansari XPRIZE, a commercial human space flight initiative, he decided to pursue the consulting industry because commercialization requires both engineers and management. Before founding ispace, he worked for a management consulting firm where he conducted many cost reduction projects across various industries resulting in millions of dollars in savings for his clients. In addition to his leadership role at ispace, Hakamada previously served as CEO at White Label Space Japan, LLC, while also acting as Project Leader at Lowendal Group, Consultant at Lowendal Group, and Graduate Research Assistant at Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory. He is an inspiring figure in the new space industry and has contributed to meetings initiated by Minister of State of Japan, Mr. Yamamoto, to discuss the creation of a new space industry by new players in Japan.