WAKEI hires Appier and Rakuten veteran Tomoya Kawaguchi as VP of Sales

WAKEI appointed Tomoya Kawaguchi as vice president of sales on July 16, 2026, giving the Tokyo-based company a seasoned operator to lead its sales push in Japan and Taiwan. The hire is meant to strengthen WAKEI’s independent trading desk business and deepen its cross-border marketing work built on consumer purchase data.

Why it matters: - WAKEI is trying to scale its Independent Trading Desk business across Japan and Taiwan. - Kawaguchi brings app advertising, data-driven sales, and agency relationships that match WAKEI’s core business. - The hire could help WAKEI deepen support for Japanese app advertisers and expand cross-border marketing activity.

What happened: - WAKEI Inc. named Tomoya Kawaguchi vice president of sales, effective July 16, 2026. - Kawaguchi will lead WAKEI’s sales organization as the company’s most senior sales executive. - His remit includes the full go-to-market strategy for WAKEI’s ITD business. - WAKEI is a Japan-Taiwan cross-border digital marketing company headquartered in Tokyo.

The details: - WAKEI operates an Independent Trading Desk built on app-focused demand-side platforms. - The company also runs a Japan-Taiwan cross-border marketing business based on consumer purchase data from Taiwan. - Kawaguchi spent more than a decade in Japan’s digital advertising industry. - He joined Appier’s Japan entity in 2015 as an early team member. - At Appier, Kawaguchi led Japan’s advertising sales organization. - His work contributed to Appier Group’s 2021 listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. - Before Appier, Kawaguchi spent three years at Rakuten. - At Rakuten, he sold ad products built on purchase data from Rakuten Ichiba and other group media. - Kawaguchi worked with major Japanese digital agencies, including CyberAgent and Dentsu. - WAKEI said Kawaguchi has worked directly with or overseen sales relationships with more than 500 companies. - WAKEI said the hire strengthens its sales organization, deepens advisory capability for Japanese app advertisers, and accelerates cross-border marketing efforts. - WAKEI’s investors include Ho-Chwan Investment Co., Ltd., the investment vehicle of the co-founding family of Taiwan’s Hotai Group, and MicroAd, Inc. (TSE Growth: 9553). - WAKEI was founded in October 2025. - WAKEI’s website is the company’s website.

Between the lines: - Kawaguchi’s background spans both app marketing and purchase-data advertising, which fits WAKEI’s mix of programmatic media and cross-border data products. - WAKEI is leaning on a veteran sales leader to compete in a market where relationships with advertisers and agencies can be as important as product features. - The company is also signaling that transparency and platform-agnostic operations are part of its sales pitch. - The move reflects WAKEI’s effort to connect Japan’s app advertisers with Taiwan-based consumer data and campaign execution.

What’s next: - Kawaguchi will lead WAKEI’s sales buildout as the company expands its ITD and cross-border marketing businesses. - WAKEI is expected to use his network to broaden advertiser relationships in Japan and Taiwan. - The company will likely focus on converting its data and programmatic positioning into more client growth.

The bottom line: - WAKEI is betting that an experienced ad-tech sales executive can help turn its Japan-Taiwan data and programmatic strategy into faster business growth.